KALISPELL, Mont. (AP) - A blizzard over northwestern Montana halted highway and rail traffic, closed schools and led a Native American tribe to declare a state of emergency on Monday, while the manager of at least one ski area was thrilled with the fresh powder.
The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for the region until 11 p.m. and a blizzard warning along Flathead Range.
The storm that began on Friday intensified over the weekend and early Monday but was starting to diminish, National Weather Service meteorologist Jim Brusda said.
“It was literally snowing almost an inch an hour for 24 hours,” Brusda said. “The three-day storm total will be in the vicinity of a record.”
Bigfork got 18 inches of snow in a 12-hour period while Olney, northwest of Whitefish, reported 31 inches of snow over the weekend.
East Glacier Park reported more than 4 feet of snow, leading Blackfeet Indian Tribe chairman Harry Barnes to issue an emergency declaration that warned residents of the reservation to stay indoors.
The Montana Department of Transportation closed U.S. Highway 2 between West Glacier and East Glacier Park due to blizzard conditions and because snow drifts completely covered the road in several places. Some local traffic was allowed.
A backcountry avalanche warning was issued for the Whitefish, Swan and Flathead mountain ranges and southern Glacier National Park, with extreme danger above 6,000 feet.
At least one avalanche had blocked the BNSF Railway line over Marias Pass, delaying freight and passenger trains, the Flathead Beacon reported.
Empire Builder trains were stopped at Whitefish and Shelby. Each was carrying about 90 passengers. Amtrak could not bus them around the blocked line because the highway was closed.
The eastbound Empire Builder will not depart from Seattle or Portland, Oregon, on Monday while the westbound train from Chicago will travel only to St. Paul, Minnesota, officials said.
BNSF, which also was also holding trains in Whitefish and Shelby, was telling customers to expect shipment delays of 24 to 36 hours.
The DOT suggested emergency travel only on U.S. 2 from West Glacier to the junction with Montana 40 west of Columbia Falls, and on Montana 206 from Columbia Falls to Montana 35 east of Kalispell.
People were urged to stay home if they didn’t absolutely need to travel. Closures included schools in Kalispell, Whitefish, Columbia Falls and Bigfork along with Libby, Eureka and Troy.
To the south, an avalanche blocked one lane of U.S. Highway 287 near Quake Lake west of Yellowstone National Park, state transportation department officials said. Nearby, Idaho officials closed roadways going into Montana because of poor visibility from blowing and drifting snow.
The storm dumped 5 feet of snow at the Teton Pass Ski area west of Choteau from Friday through Monday morning.
“This is the greatest thing that could ever happen to a ski area,” general manager Chuck Hlavac told the Great Falls Tribune. “We hit the jackpot.”
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