Heavy Snow in Blackfoot Region, Montana

Heavy snowfall continued along and near the Continental Divide as an arctic frontal boundary remained stationary over the area. 24 hour storm total snowfall reports were 6 inches at Seeley Lake, 15 inches at West Glacier, 16 inches at Marias Pass and 42 inches at Noisy Basin. The arctic frontal boundary that moved through the region on January 26th, loaded the area with up to five feet of heavy wet snow by January 28th. Wide temperature fluctuations made for an unstable snowpack in the West Glacier Region to produce eight avalanches from Essex to Marias Pass, two of which hit an east bound freight train near Essex. These two avalanches knocked 15 cars off the rails, closing the tracks used by Amtrak's Empire Builder. U.S. 2 was closed for several days as crews tried to clear the snow from the tracks and highway, and avalanche danger continued to be high.