Major Weather Event – March 11th through March 14th, 2026
For those of you considering traveling this week, a major weather event is expected to start Wednesday evening through late Thursday with high winds (50 – 70 mph) in both Flathead and Lake Counties. Between Thursday and Saturday, forecasters are anticipating heavy snow accumulations in mountain passes (>5,000’) like Lookout Pass and Marias Pass, with multiple inches of snow potentially reaching valley floors. Almost all of Montana will be experiencing this weather pattern to some degree.
The National Weather Service Offices in Montana advise travelers to consider avoiding travel Wednesday evening through Thursday morning. If travel is unavoidable, make alternate travel plans, monitor weather updates, watch MDOT road conditions, and be sure to have your vehicle’s winter travel emergency kit on hand. These specifics are subject to change as forecast-model predictions near real-time.
Here’s what you can do to stay safe:
At home/work:
- Park vehicles away from trees and power lines, if possible.
- Tune into your trusted weather sources for updated forecasts.
- Refrain from sitting next to windows during periods of high-wind gusts.
- Secure loose items outside of your home to remove dangerous projectile potential (trash cans, yard equipment).
- If your power goes out, you can reference Mission Valley Power’s Outage Map to understand the scope of the outage. You can also report an outage affecting you in your online MVP account.
- Take photos of property/assets that will be exposed to the elements, so that you have photo documentation from before the severe weather occurred, should the storm cause any reportable damages.
- Prepare for power outages (think: get your electronic devices charged in advance, know where flashlights are, prepare back-up battery packs, have extra food and water on hand, in case the outage last a while/especially if your property is on a well-water system that operates on electricity).
- Ensure that you are registered in your residential and/or occupational county’s emergency notification system for the most up-to-date timely notices:
- Flathead County: Genasys
- Lake County: Hyper-Reach
- Missoula County: Smart911
- Sanders County: Hyper-Reach
If you must travel:
- Postpone backcountry activities until this special weather event passes.
- Tune into your trusted weather sources for updated forecasts.
- Check the Montana Department of Transportation Road Conditions before traveling.
- Ensure that you have your winter travel emergency kit in your vehicle, and that you are dressed for the conditions.
- Turn on your manual headlights – do not rely on automatic lights (manual guarantees your tail lights are indeed on)
- Avoid traveling once the winds increase, or reduce your speed during strong gusts, particularly in high-profile vehicles.
- If you encounter downed power lines, stay away from them and report them to 9-1-1 immediately.
For more information:
- National Weather Service Office Missoula
- National Weather Service Office – Flathead Lake area
- High-Wind Safety (American Red Cross)
- Before a High-Wind Event (source: NWS)
- During a High-Wind Event (source: NWS)
- Missoula, MT Forecast Office (covers all of northwestern Montana)
- Montana Department of Transportation (Road Condition Report)
- Montana Department of Transportation (511 Road-Conditions Interactive Map)