Blizzard — Eastern Teton, Montana

2020-03-14 · Eastern Teton, Montana

Event narrative

AWOS site at 6 NNE Fairfield (Hotel K1HM) reports blizzard conditions from 6 am to 11 am MST. The blizzard conditions may have began earlier but there was a station outage during the overnight hours.

Wider weather episode

This winter storm had a favorable combination of moisture and cold arctic air. An upper level low off the west coast extended a piece of energy into the region Friday through the weekend. This low provided ample pacific moisture and enhanced lift from an upper level warm front. Meanwhile, a cold front pushed from north to south and brought rapidly cooling temperatures along with stronggustywinds. The hardest hit area was north and west of a Helenato Havre line,where the presence of a barrier jet enabledblizzard conditions todevelop. The end result was widespread snow for three days, with areas of blowing snow, and sub-zero temperatures once the snow ended.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 875733. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.