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The Worst Winter Storms in Missoula, MT History: H
The Worst Winter Storms in Missoula, MT History: H
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Sep 02, 2026
4:39 AM
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Missoula, Montana, has a reputation for beautiful winters, but the city's history also includes snowstorms capable of shutting down roads, overwhelming transportation systems, disrupting utilities, and making ordinary life difficult for days at a time. The Bitterroot, Missoula, and Clark Fork valleys can funnel cold air and winter moisture into the region, while nearby mountain passes can experience conditions considerably worse than those measured in town.
Historical snowfall records show just how extreme Missoula's winters can become. The city's all-time single-day snowfall record is 19.7 inches, set on February 12, 1936. Missoula's snowiest winter season was 1996–1997, when 111.2 inches accumulated, while December 1996 alone produced a remarkable 54.1 inches. The deepest snow cover ever measured in the city's long-term record reached 27 inches on December 29, 1996.
Those numbers tell only part of the story. A storm becomes historically important not simply because of snowfall totals, but because of what happens when snow interacts with freezing temperatures, wind, transportation, buildings, utilities, and the people who depend on them.
Here are several of the most significant winter events in Missoula's recorded history and what they reveal about the community's evolving ability to deal with severe winter weather.
February 12, 1936: Missoula's Record-Breaking Snowstorm
The storm of February 12, 1936, remains the benchmark against which Missoula's major snowfalls are measured.
Official climate records show 19.7 inches of snow in a single day, the largest daily snowfall in Missoula's period of record. Over the broader February 11–13 event, approximately 28.5 inches accumulated. February 1936 ultimately became one of the city's snowiest months, with 43.3 inches recorded during the month.
What made the event particularly remarkable was the meteorological setup. A powerful cold air mass was already established over the region, while an unusual plume of moisture moved into the Northern Rockies. Modern meteorological analysis described the setup as potentially resembling an atmospheric-river-type moisture plume overrunning Arctic air. The result was an unusually efficient snowfall event.
The storm also demonstrates one of the difficulties of researching historic disasters: detailed impact records from the early twentieth century are much less complete than modern emergency-management records. There are not the same detailed digital outage reports, traffic databases, social-media records, or emergency incident logs that exist today.
Nevertheless, the physical magnitude of the event is clear. Nearly 20 inches in one day would create serious transportation problems even with modern snow-removal equipment. In 1936, when road-maintenance machinery, communications, forecasting technology, and transportation infrastructure were much less sophisticated, such snowfall represented an enormous logistical challenge.
For Missoula, the lesson was fundamental: a storm does not need hurricane-force winds or widespread structural destruction to become dangerous. Heavy snow alone can overwhelm transportation and daily life.
The 1936 storm remains particularly important because it demonstrates that Missoula's extreme snowfall potential is not a modern anomaly. The city has always been capable of producing exceptional winter events.
January 1963: A Snowy Month That Tested Missoula
Another important historical benchmark came in January 1963. Missoula recorded 42.5 inches of snow during the month, making it one of the snowiest months in the city's historical record.
A monthly snowfall total of this magnitude creates a different type of hazard from a single-day blizzard. Instead of one dramatic storm followed by rapid recovery, repeated snowfall can prevent roads, sidewalks, parking areas, and residential neighborhoods from fully recovering between events.
This distinction is important for Missoula today.
A city can sometimes cope with one large snowfall if crews have enough time afterward to clear major roads. Repeated storms create a snow-management problem because every new accumulation reduces available storage space and consumes equipment hours before the previous event has been completely addressed.
The 1963 winter illustrates the importance of storm duration and frequency, not simply peak snowfall.
As Missoula grew, the challenge became more complicated. More homes meant more driveways and sidewalks. More residents meant more vehicles. Expanding commercial districts increased the importance of reliable access. Schools, hospitals, emergency services, public transit, and businesses all became increasingly dependent on predictable transportation.
In other words, winter preparedness had to evolve alongside the city itself.
February 7, 1975: More Than 14 Inches in About 12 Hours
The February 7, 1975 storm provides another striking example of how quickly Missoula's winter conditions can deteriorate.
A NOAA/National Weather Service technical analysis describes the event as beginning around 08Z, with moderate snowfall continuing for approximately 12 hours and leaving more than 14 inches at Missoula Airport. Other long-term climate records list 14.4 inches for February 7, making it the third-largest single-day snowfall in the city's historical record.
This event is especially useful when thinking about modern preparedness because it demonstrates the difference between a storm that unfolds gradually and one that delivers a tremendous amount of snow in a relatively short period.
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