Winter Storm — Madison River Valley, Montana

2023-02-21 to 2023-02-22 · Madison River Valley, Montana

Event narrative

Near blizzard conditions resulted in a 3-vehicle non-injury accident on MT Highway 287 in Sheridan at mile marker 35.5, reported at 9:38. Multi-car pile-up reported at 16:02 at mile marker 37 on MT Highway 287 in Sheridan. Ten vehicles were involved, and a loaded school bus was stuck in the chaos. There were six ambulatory patients. Conditions were blizzard-like, with little to no visibility. The temperature with wind chill was approximately -37. Victims were escorted to a local church to speak with Montana Highway Patrol and evaluated by EMTs. Some vehicles were left in the ditches until the weather improved for them to be removed safely. Throughout the evening and the following day, there were additional slide-offs. Two minutes after the 10-car pile-up report, another incident at mile marker 1 MT Highway 84 in Norris occurred on the opposite side of the county, reported at 16:04. This incident involved two vehicles, one of which was a school vehicle carrying numerous children. No reported injuries were involved, but road and weather conditions were terrible and deteriorating quickly.

Wider weather episode

A strong storm system resulted in a long duration snow event which was the heaviest across the Little Belt Mountains and Rocky Mountain Front. Area valleys and portions of the plains experienced blustery winds and a few inches of snow. The worst travel impacts occurred in Madison County where multiple vehicle incidents and a few injuries occurred.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1078057. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.