The National Weather Service reported on Sunday morning, February 9, that the perfect combination of temperature and moisture met at about midnight, and dumped from five to 13 inches of snow on Western Montana.

Meteorologist intern Genki Kino had been gathering statistics about snowfall amounts all morning.

"Here at the airport, we had about five inches of snow," Kino said. "In the South Hills we had reports of between seven and nine inches, while the big winner in Western Montana was Sula, where they reported 13 inches of fresh snow overnight."

Kino said conditions were perfect for an unexpected amount of heavy snow.

"It was just the perfect set-up," Kino said. "We got some cold air, and then we got that moisture feed that just came over, and that resulted in lots of snow."

Kino said the bulk of the heavy snow has already fallen, but more could be on the way.

"We do have the potential for some snow bands this afternoon," Kino said. "We're going to keep an eye on those snow bands, and if they appear, we could see some moderate snowfall again this afternoon, into this evening."

The forecast is calling for more light snow starting Monday, mixed with freezing rain by Tuesday night into Wednesday. Temperatures will rise into the mid to upper 30's throughout the coming week.

National Weather Service Intern Genki Kino

 

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