Snow lets up in Havre, cold on the way

The Havre area received another dump of snow Thursday, but whether it was a record is not officially known as yet.

It did lead to school and road closures in the area, although with the end of the storm roads were being cleared and some travel restrictions lifted Thursday night and this morning.

Havre Police Department had put an emergency travel only restriction in place for Havre, but by 9:41 p.m. Thursday issued a release saying that was lessened to recommended essential travel only.

By 8:34 this morning, the department issued another release giving a “Big thank-you” to Havre city crews for being out plowing streets and lifting the recommended essential-driving only ban.

“Please drive safely and remember to buckle up and give yourself plenty of extra time to travel to your destination,” the release added.

Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation also had closed all roads Thursday, but they were re-opened this morning and crews were working on clearing driveways, Rocky Boy Road Department Director Jim Houle said.

Other road departments said that, while roads were not closed, they have a lot of work ahead of them, including many planning to be plowing over the weekend.

“It’s going to take some time, and we are asking everyone to be patient,” Hill County Road Department Supervisor Andy Hanson said.

Havre schools, the public schools and St. Jude Thaddeus School and First Lutheran Preschool, announced Thursday they were closing today, along with the schools in Harlem, Box Elder, Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation and Hays-Lodge Pole closing for the day.

Bus routes were not in service in Chinook, but school still opened.

“We still have school for anyone who can get here,” said Chrissy Downs, secretary at Chinook High School.

National Weather Service Meteorologist Jason Anglin in Great Falls said the service had not received an official report of the snowfall in Havre as of 9 this morning, but unofficial reports show close to or more than a foot fell Thursday.

“Anywhere from eight to 12 inches,” Meteorologist Jason Anglin said.

Depending on what fell in the last two days, it could put Havre close to or over a record for the year since July 1, with 59.5 inches recorded by Feb. 6. The record on that day, set in 1970, was 66.2 inches.

Earlier this morning, the storm had moved past Havre and points east, but according to the Montana Department of Transportation road report map, it still was falling to the west and south.

Anglin said the snow stopped in Great Falls this morning, but as of 9 a.m. snow was still falling in Helena.

The roads caused one Havre High School activity to cancel a trip, with the speech and debate team skipping the national qualifier tournament in Helena due to concern of roads in Wolf Creek Canyon, which were listed as icy with snow falling and blowing and drifting snow.

The Blue Pony swim team headed off for Great Falls this morning, and after travel restrictions were lifted and conferring with Browning High School, Havre High announced the Blue Pony basketball games this afternoon, boys in Browning and and girls versus Browning in Havre, still were on.

Anglin said the snow is over for now in the Havre area, but the cold now will set in.

A wind chill advisory is in place for the northern part of the state east of the Continental Divide, from the middle of Glacier County into Minnesota.

Liberty, Toole and Glacier counties had an advisory in effect through noon today that said wind chills could be as low as minus 20, which could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 mites.

The advisory for Hill and Blaine county through 11 a.m. Saturday predicts wind chills as low as mius 50, which could cause frostbite on exposed skin as quickly as in 10 minutes.

Anglin said the next chance of snow — just a slight chance — will likely be Sunday, along with higher temperatures, with lows about zero and highs in the teens, but with below-zero wind chills still likely.

“It will see a slight warmup, if you can call it that,” he said.

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Havre Daily News reporter Alex Ross contributed to this story.