A moist and warm air mass brought freezing levels up to between 6,000 and 7,000 feet MSL on Feb. 27 and brought freezing rain to western Montana. Yet another arctic air mass pushed into western Montana and this time there was enough transportable snow to cause blizzard conditions in places. There were reports of severe drifting and severe driving conditions causing an unusually high amount of vehicle slide-offs and accidents. A rare urban avalanche took the life of a 68 year old woman and injured two others in a northern Missoula suburb.

Blizzard in WEST GLACIER REGION, MONTANA
From 28-FEB-14 02:00:00 to 28-FEB-14 10:00:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Public

A person from the public in Hungry Horse reported whiteout conditions through Bad Rock Canyon due to blowing and drifting snow. Also extreme wind chills to -21 deg. F were reported from Essex to Marias Pass.

Winter Weather in KOOTENAI/CABINET REGION, MONTANA
From 27-FEB-14 15:00:00 to 28-FEB-14 16:00:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

The COOP located at the Eureka Ranger Station reported 1.1 of snow on Feb. 28. Light snow was reported across the area during this event keeping roads slick at times.

Winter Storm in LOWER CLARK FORK REGION, MONTANA
From 27-FEB-14 10:00:00 to 28-FEB-14 20:00:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Department of Highways

Freezing was the first impact to cause black ice on I-90 between St. Regis and Frenchtown with a few accidents reported earlier on Feb. 27. The rain changed to moderate to heavy snow by nightfall. A NWS employee located one mile north of Alberton  reported 11 of snow at 5 am MST Feb. 28. Montana DOT reported blowing snow along sections of I-90 from Frenchtown to Alberton and also at Evaro Hill. Other reports include: 9 Evaro and 8 Haugan 1 west.

Winter Storm in BUTTE / BLACKFOOT REGION, MONTANA
From 27-FEB-14 16:00:00 to 28-FEB-14 10:30:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Department of Highways

Freezing rain fell from 4 to 9 pm MST on Feb. 27 along I-90 from Drummond to the Butte area and also along MT-1 from Anaconda to Hall. As the arctic air moved in combined with falling moderate to heavy snow, blowing and severe drifting developed. This contributed to the Montana DOT listing I-90 from Phosphate to Warm Springs, MT-1 Drummond to Hall as Severe Driving conditions from 12 am MST to 10:30 am MST on Feb. 28. It also reported severe driving conditions on I-90 from Gold Creek to Warm Springs from 8 to 11 am MST on March 1. Extreme wind chills to -29 F were reported at 8:24 pm MST 7 miles north of Helmville on Feb. 28. Thirty-eight slide-off and motor vehicle accidents were reported during this event. There were 11 reports of stranded vehicles as well.

Winter Weather in BITTERROOT / SAPPHIRE MOUNTAINS, MONTANA
From 27-FEB-14 15:00:00 to 28-FEB-14 19:00:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: SNOTEL

Montana DOT reported freezing rain from Lolo Pass to Lolo on US-12 during the afternoon on Feb. 27. The Lolo Pass SNOTEL reported around 5 of total snowfall that mainly fell on Feb. 28.

Avalanche in MISSOULA / BITTERROOT VALLEYS, MONTANA
From 28-FEB-14 16:15:00 to 28-FEB-14 16:15:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 319.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Park/Forest Service

Near record snowfall for the month of February and strong easterly winds associated with an arctic air mass intrusion, caused severe wind loading on the western slopes of Mount Jumbo between Feb. 27-28. A snowboarder triggered a hard slab avalanche on a west facing, 35 degree slope of Mount Jumbo during the late afternoon of Feb. 28. The snowboarder was caught and carried for several yards before he was able to get out by himself. The avalanche traveled at approximately 80 to 100 mph and caught two children, ages 8 and 10, who were playing in their backyard as it slammed into and destroyed a two story wood frame home built in 1975. One child was partially buried  up to their armpits but not injured while the other was completely buried under 3 feet of snow. This child was later rescued, taken to the hospital and sustained only  minor injuries. The two residents of the destroyed home, a 66 year old male and his 68 year old wife were inside their home when it was hit and both were buried under several feet of snow and debris. Live power lines and broken natural gas lines complicated the rescue. The 66 year old male was rescued, had multiple injuries and lived. The 68 year old wife was rescued, but later died on March 3 from traumatic injuries. Three rental homes, 8 vehicles and an apartment building were also damaged by the avalanche. The avalanche width was 658 ft., depth was 2.5 to 4 ft. and the distance that it traveled from crown to terminus was 2,200 ft. Information courtesy of the West Central Montana Avalanche Center. The National Weather Service Missoula calculated a rough property damage estimate of $319K.

Blizzard in POTOMAC / SEELEY LAKE REGION, MONTANA
From 28-FEB-14 03:00:00 to 28-FEB-14 10:00:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Department of Highways

Montana DOT reported high winds, snow, reduced visibility from Bonner to Greenough Hill area. A CoCoRaHS observer in Bonner measured 2.1 of heavy snow that fell in 2 hours ending at 11:30 pm MST on Feb. 27 with a total of 6.2 through 5 am Feb. 28. Other snowfall amounts: 14 Snowbowl Ski area, 9.5 Seeley Lake and 8 1 mile south of Condon. The spotter in Condon reported wind gusts to 30 mph on Feb. 28 with snow falling. The Lindbergh Lake COOP saw 59.7 of snow for the month of February which breaks the previous all-time record of 47 set back in 1966. Records go back to Feb. 1960 for that station.

Blizzard in FLATHEAD/MISSION VALLEYS, MONTANA
From 28-FEB-14 02:00:00 to 28-FEB-14 10:00:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

A spotter reported whiteout conditions 2 miles west-southwest of Columbia Falls. Winds were gusting to 50 mph during the event. Their best estimation of the snowfall was 4 inches. Snow bands developed during the day and brought the heaviest snow to the Ronan area where a storm total of 8.5 fell as measured by a weather spotter. The Columbia Falls schools closed on Feb. 28 due to the weather. A weather spotter located 8 miles east-southeast of Rollins reported a wind gust of 53 mph at 10 pm MST on Feb. 28. The Northwestern A divisional basketball tournament in Kalispell was postponed as well. As a side note, freezing rain fell on Feb. 27 between 1 and 4 pm MST from Arlee to Ronan causing slick conditions.

Blizzard in MISSOULA / BITTERROOT VALLEYS, MONTANA
From 28-FEB-14 03:00:00 to 28-FEB-14 10:00:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Public

A person from the public reported whiteout conditions just to the west of Hellgate Canyon where they estimated wind gusts to 50 mph at times. They had a tough time driving the streets in their four wheel drive vehicle. There were 1 to 2 foot drifts on the streets with up to 9 foot drifts in some parking lots. Numerous businesses delayed  opening, and several closed for the day as employees could not make it to work.  Many vehicles became stuck and were temporarily abandoned in downtown streets.  All public and private schools in Missoula were canceled. The Missoula International Airport storm total snowfall was 9.1 with 0.70 of precipitation. Freezing rain was reported on Feb. 27 from Hamilton to Missoula before it changed to snow by the evening hours. It caused very slick conditions in places, especially side streets. There were numerous motor vehicle slide-offs and accidents reported throughout the event. The Missoula snowfall total for the month of February was 40.2 and became the 2nd highest on record since 1894.