MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) - A dramatic change in weather that brought warmer temperatures, rain and wind to Montana on Thursday caused flooding and impassable highways and rail lines.
Heavy rain and snowmelt prompted the closure of Interstate 90 between St. Regis and the Idaho border due to standing water on the highway, the state Department of Transportation said.
Three avalanches were reported in the Marias Pass area, including one that blocked rail traffic and U.S. Highway 2 along Glacier National Park, BSNF Railway said.
Justun Juelfs, maintenance chief for the DOT’s Kalispell division, said a 200-foot-long natural avalanche spilled 6 to 8 feet of snow over the rail line and 6 to 8 inches of snow on the highway.
The highway was closed between Essex and East Glacier due to ongoing avalanche danger. Juelfs said the department will not try to clear the highway.
“At this point we’re backing equipment and staff out of the region due to instability,” Juelfs told the Daily Inter Lake.
The eastbound Empire Builder train was holding in Whitefish, Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said. The westbound train had not yet reached western Montana.
The weather service issued a blizzard warning for the Rocky Mountain Front, fearing that strong winds, with gusts up to 65 mph, might cause more drifting of the 3 to 5 feet of snow that fell over the weekend.
Meteorologist Paul Nutter in Great Falls said rain and warmer temperatures were helping keep the snow in place and rain threatened to leave a layer of ice on roads.
Ice was reported on highways south of Polson to St. Ignatius and Moiese and in the Dixon area as well as in the Butte and Wisdom areas.
Avalanche warnings were issued for western Montana and in the mountains north and west of Yellowstone National Park, in part because the rain is weighing down the most recent snowpack.
“We had a lot of dry snow earlier in the winter that’s accumulated. Now you’re actually warming up the new snow on top of that which is heavier. That’s leading to a lot of snow slide activity,” said meteorologist Dan Zumpfe in Missoula.
In Bonner, east of Missoula, snow and ice caused trees to fall onto power lines, interrupting service for about 400 customers, NorthWestern Energy said.
In Great Falls, the temperature rose from 1 degree at 1 a.m. to 47 degrees at noon. Winds were gusting up to 38 mph in Livingston.
The weather service also has issued flood warnings west and south of Missoula, mostly because the ground is frozen and the rain and melting snow can’t sink in, Zumpfe said.
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