Heavy Snow — Gallatin Valley, Montana

2023-03-24 to 2023-03-27 · Gallatin Valley, Montana

Event narrative

A highly impactful heavy wet snow even occurred across the Bozeman metro area. Heavy snow occurred across downtown to areas across Montana State University. The public reported an unconfirmed amount of 36 inches of snow about eight miles SSE of Bozeman. Nearly two feet of snow fell in less than 12 hours at the Bozeman Fire Department due to synoptic and orographic affects. Montana State University measured 25 inches of snow at the NWS COOP site. Areas near Four Corner and Bozeman Hot Springs received 18 to 24 inches of snow. The Belgrade area received 11 to 12 inches of wet snow. Amounts lowered farther west of Belgrade, but remained impactful. Stranded vehicles were noted across much of Bozeman and nearby areas.

Wider weather episode

A series of Pacific weather systems brought periods of snow to most of central and southwest Montana through the weekend with a stronger winter storm affecting portions of Southwest Montana through the early part of the weekend.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1084057. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.