27
w w w. d i s t i n c t l y m o n t a n a . c o m
1896, thus "entirely melting 30″ of snow." On January 11, 1980,
the temperature at Great Falls International Airport soared from
-32°F to 15°F in only seven minutes, which remains the most rapid
temperature change recorded in American history. These events,
however, are surpassed in magnitude by the world-record 103°F
temperature change observed at Loma in 1972, when Chinook
winds triggered a meteoric rise from -54°F, at 9 a.m. on January
14th, to 49°F by 8 a.m. on January 15th.
Old Man Winter does not currently pack quite the punch
that he did during the 19th century, but Montana winters can
still generate record-breaking performances. The maximum
snowfall reported in 24 hours is 48 inches, which occurred most
recently at an observational station southeast of Millegan on
December 27, 2003. Similarly, the largest single-storm snowfall,
77.5 inches, was measured at Summit, near East Glacier Park, on
January 17-20, 1972.
An unseasonably early storm bombarded the northern Rocky
Mountain Front from September 28-30, 2019. Babb and Brown-
ing received 52" and 48" of snow, respectively. As predicted by
its preceding Winter Storm Watch, this event "set a new bench-
mark for snow accumulations," one for which the only known
precedent was a storm in 1934.
TA K I N G 2 02 5 R E S E RVAT I O N S STA R T I N G JA N UA RY 6
Dry Cabins • Lakefront Cabins • RV Sites • Marina
234 NORTH ENNIS LAKE ROAD, McALLISTER, MT 59740
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Strong
wind
Chinook
Wall
Cloud
warm
dry
18°c
-12°c
10°c
Moisture
Lost
HEAT
ADDED
Chinook
Altitude
(KM)
5
—
4
—
3
—
2
—
1
—
0
—
A massive Chinook arch, extendng from
southwestern Alberta almost to Yellowstone,
is clearly visible in this satellite image.
