Snowstorm closes schools, snarls traffic

Several inches of snow fell Tuesday night into Wednesday in Northwest Montana, closing Whitefish, Bigfork and Swan River schools on Wednesday and causing difficult driving conditions that led to several traffic accidents.

None of those accidents in Flathead County resulted in anyone being taken to the hospital, according to Montana Highway Patrol Sgt. Chan Barry.

“The nice thing about all the snow is that people generally know they are going to have to slow down and take their time to get where they are going, so we were fortunate,” Barry said.

Polson received the most snow in the Flathead, as 13 inches piled up there. Bigfork totaled 8 to 13 inches. Whitefish had 10 inches of snow while Columbia Falls and Kalispell reported 8 to 10 inches, according to the National Weather Service. Glacier Park International Airport had 7.4 inches.

In Lincoln County, Libby had 9 1/2 inches while Eureka had 3 to 5.

Of the dozens of accidents troopers investigated Wednesday, 18 involved slide-offs.

A tractor trailer jack-knife accident at 8 a.m. Wednesday closed a lane of traffic on U.S. 93 about 3 miles north of Montana 82. A tanker truck slid into the ditch on Montana 35 near Woods Bay at about 7 a.m., closing a lane of traffic. A chip truck slid off Montana 206 at the intersection with Montana 35, partially blocking the northbound lane for a short amount of time.

Travel over Jette Hill on U.S. 93 north of Polson temporarily required chains for semis due to snow and ice.

Blowing and drifting conditions were reported on U.S. 2 over Marias Pass near Glacier National Park.

Conditions improved in some areas as skies cleared and temperatures warmed into the mid- and upper-30s.

Road conditions varied from wet to scattered slush and snowy and icy, according to the highway department.

Reporter Scott Shindledecker may be reached at 406-758-4441 or sshindledecker@dailyinterlake.com