Montana’s early winter storm disrupts travel on Homestake Pass

Travel disruption

Montana’s first winter storm brought snow and a lengthy traffic disruption on Homestake Pass over the weekend. KBZK reported that Montana Highway Patrol closed westbound lanes on October 11 while emergency crews responded to an overturned semi-truck crash involving an injury. Motorists reported waiting for hours as crews cleared the scene. ^[1]

The station’s account says road conditions remained difficult before noon on October 12, but the patrol subsequently reported the westbound lanes reopened. That update is a report of the reopening after the crash, rather than a guarantee about conditions for every later journey across the pass or elsewhere in Montana. ^[1]

KBZK spoke with truck drivers who adjusted their trips to the weather. One said icy roads increased his travel time; another stopped overnight in Bozeman instead of continuing. Their accounts describe practical effects of the early-season storm, without establishing a statewide snowfall total or the full number of affected motorists. ^[1]

Forecasts and observed totals

NBC Montana’s forecast, updated October 11, highlighted travel impacts on Rogers, MacDonald, Homestake and Lost Trail passes and southwest Montana valley roads. It forecast 3 to 9 inches for the Butte and Homestake warning area, with 12 to 18 inches in higher mountain locations. Those figures were projected accumulations, not verified measurements. ^[2]

The warning periods listed in that forecast ended Monday, October 12. Its broader outlook anticipated a hard freeze in valleys Monday through Wednesday mornings before warmer weather returned later in the week. The weekend bulletin therefore supplies background to the storm and its aftermath; it should not be read as a newly issued Tuesday warning. ^[2]