Winter Storm — West Glacier Region, Montana

2023-02-20 to 2023-02-21 · West Glacier Region, Montana

Event narrative

A weak arctic push brought heavy snow to Marias Pass between 6 and 9 am on the 20th, then ramped up again by the evening including Essex. Points north and west received a mixture of rain and snow before the arctic push westward overnight. Severe driving conditions were reported for US-2 between West Glacier and Columbia Falls and also at Marias Pass. Total snows included 17 inches at Marias Pass, 11.2 inches at Essex and 6 inches at West Glacier.

Wider weather episode

A strong push of arctic air entered western Montana thanks to low pressure to the west. This brought high winds and scattered power outages across northwest Montana. Heavy snow near the front caused low visibility, slick roads and eventual drifting snow in places.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1081688. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.