Montana saw about 40 inches of snow in some places, which shattered a century-long record and garnered widespread attention across the nation.
Heavy snowfall hit Montana Sunday. Montana Gov. Steve Bullock called for a winter emergency. Cars skidded off the highways. Communities lost power. Farmers felt despair over the damages.
“With an unprecedented winter storm throwing our state a surprise in September, state and local governments are working closely together to protect the health and safety of Montanans,” Bullock said.
According to The New York Times, 40 inches of snow fell in Browning, Montana, since Friday, and 38 inches fell in St. Mary.
“It’s a February storm in September,” Jeff Mow, the superintendent of Glacier National Park in Montana, told The New York Times. “We’re used to this kind of storm, just not this time of year.”
The snowfall broke records. There had been never been a snow record on Sept. 28 since the state started keeping records in 1893, according to The New York Times. In Great Falls, 19.3 inches of snow fell in two days — the second-highest amount to fall in a two-day period in the state’s history, according to NPR.
More snow may be on the way, too.
“We have very wet and heavy snow, which has compacted down, making it look less than 14 inches,” said Thomas Pepe, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Great Falls. “But we’re just getting into round two of snowfall — it’s starting to intensify again. It’s pretty bleak out there.”
Next up: Per the National Weather Service, the snow should have tapered off by Monday. But more could fall in the western part of the state.
Forecasters told NPR that temperatures will dip, causing potential issues for melting snow, NPR reports.
“Unseasonably cold temperatures will delay snowmelt in some areas and bring the end of the growing season for some agricultural producers,” the governor’s office said.