Record-breaking storms miss Bozeman, likely no snowstorms in town in the near future
This week, Missoula had one of its all-time greatest snowstorms. In Helena, a daily snowfall record that had been in place since 1885 was broken as 10 inches of new snow graced the town in 24 hours.
Lost Trail Powder Mountain ski resort reported 20 new inches in one day, and 50 inches over two days. Billings, Harlowtown and Big Timber all got half a foot of snow or more.
Meanwhile, not a measurable inch fell in Bozeman. What gives?
“Bozeman had two things working against it,” Bob Hoenisch, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said Friday. “It’s south of that frontal boundary, and mountains to the west and southwest were blocking a lot of moisture from getting into the Gallatin Valley.”
The boundary Hoenisch spoke of formed after a cold area set up over central and eastern Montana. Then, “a bunch of Pacific moisture was streaming in from the west,” and a boundary was created where they met. The boundary stretched from Missoula to Helena to Harlowtown to Billings. Snowfall was heaviest along that line.
“It happens, but this was a pretty unique storm in the amount of moisture that fell along the boundary,” Hoenisch said.
Between Tuesday and Thursday, Missoula got 20 inches of snow. Based on records dating back to 1893, that snowfall amount makes the storm one of the top seven ever recorded in the city.
Hoenisch said he doesn’t expect any significant snowstorms in Bozeman in the near future.
Mountains, however, are getting some snow. Since Thursday morning, the Lionhead area near West Yellowstone and the mountains near Cooke City got 11 inches to 15 inches of new snow, according to the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center.
The southern and northern Madison ranges received snow, and mountains near Bozeman got 1 inch to 2 inches.
A backcountry avalanche warning for the Lionhead area and the mountains around Cooke City was continued Friday.
Bridger Bowl reported 10 inches of new snow in the past week.
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