Rocky Boy, Montana
© Shawn & Steph WhiteRocky Boy, Montana
A winter storm hit the plains hard Monday dumping 2 1/2 feet of snow in the Bear Paw Mountains on the Rocky Boy's Reservation and more than a foot of snow on Hi-Line locations where some 7,000 people were without power and roads were treacherous.

The highest snow total that the National Weather Service in Great Falls had received as of 11:15 a.m. was 30 inches at the Rocky Boy's Reservation in the Bear Paw Mountains, said meteorologist Paul Nutter.

"Snow drifts of any where from 4 to 6 feet or snow," Nutter said.

The city of Havre received 15.5 inches of snow, said Andy Hanson, public works director for Hill County.

"Out south of town there's 3 foot of snow on some of our roads, mainly snow drifts," Hanson said.

The city of Havre's snowfall might break a daily snowfall record, Nutter said.

About 7,000 customers in Havre and areas to the east are without power, NorthWestern Energy said.

"Crews scrambling," NorthWestern said on Twitter. "Could be several days w/o power for some."

Spokesman Butch Larcombe said NorthWestern hopes to have power restored by early afternoon, but that's only an estimate at this point as crews work to get to lines downed by trees laden with heavy, wet snow.



Hill County has received a few reports from stranded motorists trapped in their vehicles, Hanson said.

"We've got all hands on deck for the road department," Hanson said.

Emergency travel only is being allowed in the county and power is out all over Havre and rural areas as well.



Icy roads are making travel exceptionally dangerous, Nutter said.

The most rapid snow accumulation occurred later Sunday.

Fall snow events are not unprecedented in Montana, Nutter said.

October still is fairly warm and a warmer atmosphere has more moisture.

"It's not unusual we might see these kind of snow numbers, it's just a matter of where does it fall?" Nutter said.

As of 10 a.m. Tuesday morning, the Montana Highway Patrol had responded to more than two dozen slideoffs and over 90 injury and non-injury crashes on Monday and Tuesday, most of them in areas affected by the storm.

Havre was hammered by heavy snow Monday.
© Josh MillerHavre was hammered by heavy snow Monday.
Many reports of large limbs broken are snapped are being reported in the Havre area, Nutter said.

"A foot of snow is pretty common number we're getting out of Havre," Nutter said.

Much of central Montana is under a winter weather advisory, including Cascade County, and a winter storm warning remains in effect until noon Tuesday for Hill, Chouteau, Liberty and Blaine counties, including the towns of Havre, Rocky Boy, Rudyard, Fort Benton, Carter, Big Sandy, Chester, Whitlash, Chinook, Harlem, and Hays.



While Great Falls received 1.5 inches of snow, below the forecasted amount, heavier snowfall amounts were reported along the Rocky Mountain Front and Hi-Line.

The Rocky Mountain Front's Bynum recorded 8.4 inches, and Conrad 9.5 inches. A foot of snow fell in Chester.

As of Tuesday morning, several incidents were keeping the Montana Department of Transportation hopping.

On Tuesday morning, crews were working to clear four semi trucks that are spun out on Loma Hill on US Highway 87 between mile markers 52 and 55. The vehicles are blocking the highway, and an email from the DOT advised that current driving conditions are severe due to blowing and drifting snow and reduced visibility.

There are power lines across the highway on US-2 between Havre and Chinook, and severe driving conditions have been added to highways between Havre and the Canadian border, Hingham to Chinook along US Highway 2 and US Highway 87 from Box Elder to Havre.



Other road closures include Montana Highway 49 from Mile marker 4 to Kiowa Junction, the Looking Glass Road near East Glacier and sections of the Beartooth Highway, including Beartooth Pass, which is closed at the lower gate 12 miles south of Red Lodge to the state line due to high winds and blowing and drifting snow. The Wyoming side of the pass is completely closed from Long Lake to the state line.

The warning advises there will be heavy snow and blowing snow occurring, and travelers should plan on difficult travel conditions. Additional snow accumulations of one to four inches are expected, especially along and south of the Highway 2 corridor. Road conditions will be slow to improve, even after the snow ends.

The Weather Service states that winds gusting as high as 40 mph will cause areas of blowing and drifting snow as well as tree and power line damage.
Severe Driving Conditions on US-87 - BIG SANDY TO BOX ELDER from milepost 78.9 to 88.5 ... https://t.co/z4jWZO2809
— MDT Road Report (@mdtroadreport) October 3, 2017
The snow was ending Tuesday morning, when skies were clear over Glacier County, but cold temperatures were expected to follow.

Temperatures were expected to dip to the mid teens along the Hi-Line and into the Lower 20s in Great Falls Tuesday evening, and there was the potential for freezing fog Wednesday morning.

Southwest Phillips County, including the cities of Zortman and Landusky, is also under a winter storm warning until noon Tuesday that includes between one and five inches of heavy, wet snow occurring. Travelers should be prepared for significant reductions in visibility at times.

Anyone driving through MacDonald, Rogers, Boulder Hill, Elk Park and Homestake Passes should use caution, as those roads will still have snowy and icy conditions.

Road conditions have delayed the news for some areas, as well. Trucks hauling the Great Falls Tribune to many rural areas have been held up by the weather. Subscribers in the Havre, Valier, Shelby, Cut Bank, East Glacier, Conrad, Malta, Glasgow, Chester, Rudyard, Hingham and White Sulphur Springs areas can expect their newspapers to arrive late.

An overturned semi on Interstate 15 near Spring Creek Bridge was removed overnight, and current road conditions are snow and ice with blowing and drifting snow.

Locally, the Great Falls Police Department has responded to a number of weather-related traffic incidents. According to Lt. Doug Mahlum of GFPD, the bridges get icy sooner than the streets, so drivers should be cautious.

"The road conditions are not terrible," Mahlum said, "but we are asking people to slow down and maintain distance between vehicles."

Snow totals as of noon Tuesday:

Monarch: 12

Nine miles north of Belt: 7.5

11 miles SSE of Ulm: 6

Great Falls: 1.5.

Fort Benton: 2.7

Lewistown: 3.5

Bozeman: 1

9 miles southeast of Rocky Boy: 16

Snow monitoring site in Bear Paw Mountains: 25

Lewistown: 5

Havre: 15.5

Hangham: 12

Helena: 2

Chester: 12

Conrad: 9.5

Bynum: 8.4