Heavy Snow — Snowy and Judith Mountains, Montana

2024-11-05 to 2024-11-06 · Snowy and Judith Mountains, Montana

Event narrative

A trained spotter reported 9 inches new snow 6 miles south of Lewistown. Additionally, snotel equipment at Crystal lake estimated 11 inches new snow. Start times was estimated using the nearby Lewistown Airport ASOS.

Wider weather episode

Strong mid level winds associated with a passing shortwave combined with two cold fronts (One Pacific and one Canadian), to result in two separate periods of strong winds, initially along the Rocky Mountain Front, but over portions of the plains as well later in the event. Behind the second Canadian cold front, northwesterly upslope snow developed across island ranges and in the Little Belts, which resulted in the greatest snow total for the event. Locations on the plains between Belt and Stanford also observed heavy snow. Additional heavy snow was observed further south across the Madison and Gallatin Ranges as westerly and eventually northwesterly flow allowed for a steady, but accumulating snow. A Blizzard Warning was also issued for the Rocky Mountain Front during portions of this period, but the period of strongest winds did not end up coinciding with falling snow, hence these potential impacts were never observed.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1216055. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.