Winter Weather — West Glacier Region, Montana

2025-12-26 to 2025-12-27 · West Glacier Region, Montana

Event narrative

The COOP observer in Essex reported 4.8 inches of snow, while 3.7 inches of snow fell in West Glacier. A power outage impacted over 300 customers due to strong winds in the Essex area.

Wider weather episode

A potent Pacific cold front traversed the Northern Rockies on Friday, December 26, 2025, bringing convective snow showers and gusty winds. Behind this initial front, an Arctic boundary began spilling over the Continental Divide into western Montana on Saturday morning, December 27. The steepening low-level lapse rates and intense frontal forcing created an environment primed for organized, convective snow squalls. These squalls produced localized areas of heavy snow, rapid accumulations, and near-zero visibility, leading to dangerous flash freeze conditions and hazardous travel on regional highways, including Interstate 90.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1307815. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.