Say it ain't snow: Kalispell sets daily record for snow
MATT BALDWIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 5 years, 4 months AGO
Volunteers help clear Smith Fields of snow prior to a Whitefish High School soccer game on Saturday in Whitefish. (Matt Baldwin/Daily Inter Lake)
Matt Baldwin is regional editor for Hagadone Media Montana. He is a graduate of the University of Montana's School of Journalism. He can be reached at 406-758-4447 or [email protected]. | October 24, 2020 10:00 AM
Northwest Montana was spared from the worst of a winter storm that walloped parts of Western Montana Friday night.
Snow began Friday afternoon and didn’t let up until early Saturday morning. Kalispell saw a daily record of 7.3 inches, which also ranks second highest all-time for October, trailing behind 11 inches set on Oct. 26, 1946, according to the National Weather Service in Missoula.
Whitefish generally saw 4 to 5 inches of snow, while Libby only reported 1.5 inches.
Snow totals were progressively higher farther south. Woods Bay along Flathead Lake reported 9 inches. Thompson Falls and Plains reported 12-14 inches, and Missoula reported over a foot of new snow.
The highest storm total in the state was the Seeley Lake and Potomac area with 18 inches.
Wind gusts of 50 mph caused some temporary power outages along Whitefish Lake and near Lakeside on Flathead Lake.
The storm caused difficult driving conditions across the region. Montana Highway Patrol responded to about 90 calls for accidents and slide-offs in the Kalispell district between Friday morning and Saturday at noon.
Montana Department of Transportation reported that U.S. 93 from Kalispell to Elmo was snow-covered Saturday morning. A tree temporarily blocked Montana 35 on Saturday about 10 miles south of Bigfork.
A push of arctic air was expected to bring record cold to Northwest Montana through the weekend, the National Weather Service reported.
Lows Saturday night in the Flathead Valley were forecast to dip below zero, with wind gusts at 20 mph. Sunday’s high temperature was expected to top out in the 20s before plummeting below zero again. Wind chill values of minus 15 were likely.
The unseasonably cold temperatures should stick around through the week, with a chance of a slight warm up by next weekend.
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