Snowstorm hits northern Rocky Mountains; Montana gets brunt
GREAT FALLS, Mont. >> Areas of the northern Rocky Mountains looked more like mid-winter rather than early fall today as a snowstorm dumped record amounts of wind-driven snow that caused hazardous travel conditions and scattered power outages.
Winter storm warnings were posted for parts of western Montana, northern Idaho and northeast Washington. Snow also was forecast for areas in Wyoming, Utah, Oregon, Nevada and California.
The brunt of the storm hit Montana where up to 2 feet of snow fell Saturday in the mountains and a record 14 inches fell in Great Falls with snow still falling today.
Major interstates and highways remained open, but snow and ice covered many stretches of roadway in western Montana.
The storm was expected to wind down late today and early Monday.