Heavy Snow — Upper Blackfoot and Macdonald Pass, Montana

2022-10-22 to 2022-10-23 · Upper Blackfoot and Macdonald Pass, Montana

Event narrative

Public reports 9 inches snow accumulation at Great Divide Ski Area. Additionally, later in the day, public reports of up to 18 inches storm total snow near Lincoln.

Wider weather episode

An unusually deep longwave trough overspread the region from the 22nd through the 23rd, bringing ample Pacific moisture for an impactful winter storm. Initially, the thought was that mountain snow and lower elevation rain would occur, but as the event got closer, it became evident that snow at lower elevation would occur, which prompted the expansion of Winter Storm Warnings to lower elevations.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1059535. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.