Plows struggle to keep up with snow
A major winter storm dumped as much as an inch of snow an hour as it swept across the Flathead Valley on Sunday and continued into Tuesday.
The snow started in earnest the evening of Jan. 4. By the next morning, more than a foot covered the ground with more coming down.
A total of 19.2 inches was recorded in Kalispell on Tuesday by the National Weather Service, which ranked the snowfall as the sixth most two-day snowfall in Flathead County history. Ranked No. 1 was the 26 inches that fell more than a century ago on March 19-20, 1898.
A measuring station in Columbia Falls was buried by more than 34 inches of accumulated snowfall. Bigfork posted 21 inches.
Schools were closed across the valley on Monday and Tuesday, and Glacier National Park closed its headquarters offices and the Going-to-the-Sun Road at the West Glacier bridge.
The Flathead Avalanche Center rated the danger at high for elevations above 3,500 feet. Some mountain weather stations went from below zero to 28 degrees in a 24-hour period, the center reported, and snow amounts overnight ranged from 6-14 inches with snow-water equivalent amounts from 0.7 to 1.8 inches.
Snow slides that ran across U.S. 2 between West Glacier and Essex were cleared up by 1 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 6, but an avalanche hit the mountain highway about 10 miles west of Essex near Blue Rock Cut at 5:35 a.m. The westbound lane was cleared for traffic by 6:48 a.m. Both lanes were clear by 8 a.m.
Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry said county snowplow crews would focus on major arterials, and Flathead County public works director Dave Prunty said plow crews were stretched to their limit across the county’s 836 miles of roads.
“We’re bordering on a paralyzing snow event,” he said on Monday. “It’ll take the week to get caught up, and the forecast doesn’t look good.”
The snow storm was caused by a “Pineapple Express,” according to National Weather Service meteorologist Genki Kino. A plume of moisture originating from Hawaii was flowing over the Pacific Northwest.
With arctic air still trapped at the surface levels, the precipitation was falling as snow. Columbia Falls could easily see more than two feet after the storm has run its course, while places like West Glacier could see three to four feet of snow, Kino said.
On the level, Columbia Falls had about 22 inches of snow by Tuesday, and the Monday night city council meeting was canceled.
Columbia Falls city manager Susan Nicosia said city crews were facing difficulties clearing the city’s 39 miles of streets, even with three workers from the water and sewer departments helping out.
“It’s just been constant,” she said. “It just keeps coming down faster than city crews can keep up with.”
Whitefish Mountain Resort reported about a foot of snow on Big Mountain, and Blacktail Mountain Ski Area reported 14 inches of snow on Monday.
Flathead Electric Cooperative reported minor power outages in Hungry Horse, West Glacier, Essex, Bigfork, Libby, Kila and Somers.
Rain fell on Monday night, leaving a crust atop the deep snow by Tuesday morning, but the weather was expected to calm by Wednesday, with fog a possibility, Kino said. A few weak disturbances could roll in by Friday and Saturday, with temperatures in the 20s.
Last week saw very cold temperatures but clear skies. On Dec. 30, the temperature dropped to 16 below zero in West Glacier and 27 below zero in Polebridge.