Storm dumps snow, snarls traffic, downs power lines

The first winter storm of the season dumped snow from the mountains to the valley floor Sunday night and Monday morning, snarling traffic, downing power lines and generally making a mess.

About an inch of slushy snow, driven by high winds, fell in Columbia Falls, with more in the higher terrain.

The Izaak Walton Inn Monday was reporting 3 to 4 inches of snow on the ground, with more still falling. In East Glacier Park, Terry Sherburne of The Mountain Pine Motel said Monday there was 16 inches of snow on the level and it was still snowing with a temperature of 24 degrees.

Polebridge reported 9 inches of snow.

The entire length of the Going-to-the-Sun Road was closed initially, as were all secondary park roads in Glacier. As of Tuesday morning, the Sun Road was reopened to Avalanche Creek and the Inside North Fork Road was open to Doverspike Meadow, but all other roads were still closed. In addition to snow, there were a lot of trees down.

The storm started out as heavy rain and then turned to snow about 1 a.m. west of the Divide.

Firefighters and Flathead Electric Co-Op crews were busy responding to reports of downed trees and power lines. The wet, heavy, snow damaged many trees which hadn’t lost their leaves yet. Thousands were without power temporarily and crews were still working Tuesday to restore power to about 300 customers between Columbia Falls and Kalispell.

One of the biggest problems for commuters was the Blue Moon intersection, where the lights malfunctioned. Traffic was backed up to Tombrink Hill at one point. By week’s end, temperatures should be back into the 40s and 50s, with rain expected.

The next storm could bring one to two inches of rain Friday and Saturday, the National Weather Service is warning, with snow levels at 6,000 feet.