Late April snow dumps 5.7 inches west of Helena, advisory posted

Five point seven inches of snow piled up 2 miles west of Helena, a late-season burst that turned spring plans back toward winter in Lewis and Clark County. The snowfall began the evening of April 22 and was tracked by National Weather Service monitors as crews, commuters and anyone trying to get yard or ranch work done west of Helena dealt with slick roads and poor visibility.

The National Weather Service in Helena had already warned that the storm could keep adding up. Its April 23 forecast placed a Winter Weather Advisory in effect until noon Friday, April 24, and called for 3 to 5 inches of daytime accumulation with more snow likely overnight and into Friday. That meant Thursday commutes, school activities and travel around Helena had to contend with another round of snow showers instead of the milder conditions many residents expect by the end of April.

The late burst fit a familiar Helena pattern: spring snow can stack up fast, then disappear just as quickly. In the National Weather Service Helena climate report for April 17, 2026, Helena Regional Airport logged 5.6 inches of snowfall, but snow depth was recorded at 0, showing that the snow did not stay on the ground there. The same report listed a highest wind gust of 37 mph, a reminder that late-season storms can bring both blowing snow and sudden changes in travel conditions.

The climate summary used by the Helena office is based on the 1991-2020 normal period, with records reaching back to 1866, giving forecasters a long view of how unusual, and how fast-moving, these April systems can be in the Helena area. National Weather Service Great Falls also maintained reports and summaries pages with Helena Montana area observations and snowfall reports, part of the broader network used to track storm impacts across Lewis and Clark County.

For people west of Helena, the bigger story was not just the total on the ruler. It was the timing. Snow falling this late in the season can delay school routines, slow morning traffic and push back work that would normally be moving ahead outdoors, from clean-up in town to calving, fencing and field work in the hills and valleys around Helena.