According to the National Weather Service in Great Falls, Montana, this storm was effectively a blizzard in the Havre area, especially considering the severe impacts. A blizzard occurs when the following conditions are met for at least three consecutive hours: sustained winds or frequent gusts to at least 35 mph and considerable falling and/or blowing snow that frequently reduces visibility to less than a quarter mile.
Elsewhere, Zortman, Montana set a new one day record for October with 14 inches of snow reported Tuesday morning.
While not a record, Missoula, Montana recorded 10 inches of snow Monday night, which is the earliest recorded measurable snow there in 34 yrs.
The heaviest estimated snow amount from this storm is 30 inches in Rocky Boy, Montana. Drifts in at least one location were estimated to be eight feet high.
It seems all of the claims in the western media of satellite images of cracks in the Mt. Agung crater of Bali's volcano were false, and magically now state that climate change is making volcanoes more "Fierce". The IPCC global warming crowd really needed that eruption to explain cooling temperatures on Earth causing record anomalous sea ice growth into the double and triple gains over previous high marks. Really, its all time anomalous sea ice gains across the Arctic. See for yourselves.
Queenin Masuabi Huffpost Thu, 05 Oct 2017 18:00 UTC
Snow in South Africa
Mountaintop residents of Lesotho and Drakensberg were surprised on Thursday when they woke up to a spring snowfall.
South African Weather Services forecaster Victoria Nurse said this occurs from time to time.
"It is not that common, but we have seen it before," she said.
"Today there was a thick band of moisture over the central parts of the country. This, combined with the passage of a previous cold front, caused temperatures to drop and snow to fall in Lesotho and the Drakensberg."
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.
While the mountains in western Montana received a dusting of snow early this week, Havre Montana was pounded by what appears to be a record snowstorm. Meteorologist Paul Nutter from the National Weather Service in Great Falls explains.
"Snow accumulations in Havre have seen widespread reports of a foot, maybe as much as 15 inches in the Havre area," Nutter said. "Potentially, what is more significant is that snow stuck to all the leaf covered trees and the result has been broken limbs and power outages. Our understanding is that power is out for all of Havre... as far as we know."
Nutter said the snowfall increased dramatically on Monday and began to dissipate by around 10 a.m. Tuesday, October 3. Up to this point, the record snowfall for the Havre area at this time of year was between five and eight inches.
The Weather Channel reports that the 13 inches of snow in Havre, Montana on Tuesday set a new record for heaviest two-day October snowfall total at the Havre City-County Airport. The previous two-day October record was 12.6 inches, which was set in 1898.
Over half a metre of snow falls in Saskatchewan to start October.
Wintry October kickoff
Snow plastered parts of Saskatchewan to start October with over half a metre falling in Cypress Hills.
While the southwest corner of the province was hit hardest with the white stuff, resulting in travel not being recommended in the area, other regions were drenched in rain.
Another day, another early season snowstorm for the Rockies! Mother Nature unleashed more than just a dusting in Colorado, as many of the state's resorts are reporting heavy snowfall. Steamboat seems to be the big winner of the storm and is reporting 19 inches.
Arapahoe Basin and Loveland, who are in a race to be the first resorts to open for the season, both received 17 inches. This was a great addition to their already impressive bases and snowmaking efforts.
This storm also caused one of the first snow-related road closures on I-70, as the slick, wet roads may have caught some people by surprise and caused numerous crashes, according to CDOT's Twitter.
Summit county resident Ron Gilligan clears snow off his driveway in the Summit Cove neighborhood Monday, Oct. 2 near Dillon.
The first major snowstorm of the season came in force overnight Sunday, battering the mountains with heavy, wet snow that clogged traffic, cancelled school and left more than 10,000 high country homes without power into Monday morning.
Simultaneous closures at major choke points on Interstate 70 at the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnel and Vail Pass left drivers marooned in Georgetown and at a shelter in Vail, which soon filled to capacity.
"It's been a long morning," said Colorado State Patrol Sergeant Patrick Williams. "Welcome to winter, right?"
Despite the mayhem and lengthy mop-up efforts, which started to wrap up at around 9:30 a.m., Williams said he was not aware of any serious injury or fatality crashes in the Summit County or Vail Pass area.
Ready or not, the snowy cold has arrived. Over the last week, snow blanketed parts of the western United States. And last night, storms dumped on Colorado.
As early snowstorms go, the latest round in the west is hefty. More than 12 inches fell in Breckenridge, Colo., last night. Check out the porch above, and town shot below!
Comment: See also: Record snowfall hits Havre, Montana, power out with reports of up to 15 inches of snow