Heavy Snow — Little Belt and Highwood Mountains, Montana

2025-01-21 to 2025-01-22 · Little Belt and Highwood Mountains, Montana

Event narrative

Three Snotels (Spur Park, Stringer Creek, and Onion Park) all measured an estimated 9 or 10 inches new snow for the event. Showdown Ski area reported a storm total of 17 inches.

Wider weather episode

The combination of an increasing pressure gradient, cross barrier flow, and an upper level wave resulted in a period of falling and blowing snow, most notable from the Little Belts eastward through Fergus County, where blizzard conditions were observed on the 22nd. On the front end of the event, strong winds were observed from Cut Bank westward toward the Northern Rocky Mountain Front.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1226798. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.