Video Shows Summer Snowfall Amid Winter Weather Advisory

Videos and photos shared across social media showed snow falling in Montana amidst a winter weather advisory issued by the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Missoula.
According to the advisory, up to 12 inches of snow had fallen in parts of Glacier National Park. As of Thursday morning, a frost advisory and a freeze warning were also in place in Missoula as temperatures plunged as low as 28 degrees courtesy of a cold front, although the alerts were expected to expire by later in the morning. Temperatures dipped low enough that meteorologists warned people to protect tender crops and vegetables.
“There are two counties in the United States right now under a Winter Weather Advisory [and] my sister happens to be in one of them,” one user posted on X, formerly Twitter. “Glacier National Park is seeing snow today.”
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The video showed snow falling in the park. A second video included in the post showed cars carefully navigating a road where snow had started to stick.
NWS meteorologist Alex Lukinbeal told Newsweek that the heavy snow was abnormal for August, even in Glacier National Park. The first snow of the season typically falls during the first week of September and only measures a few inches.
“A foot of snow to the point where they’re closing the road is definitely abnormal for August,” he said.
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The snow was severe enough for Glacier National Park officials to close Going-to-the-Sun Road between Avalanche Creek and Jackson Glacier Overlook “due to dangerous road conditions caused by snow and ice.”
“The closure will remain in place until conditions improve,” the alert said.
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However, Lukinbeal doesn’t expect the snow to stick around for long. Temperatures are already above freezing, and Lukinbeal told Newsweek he expects the park to warm up and dry out pretty quickly this weekend.
“It’s hard to say for sure how long the snow is going to stick around, but there’s definitely going to be a lot of melting that goes on today and tomorrow,” he said. “So, by the holiday, it’s probably going to be mostly gone.”
By Friday, temperatures are expected to swing back above normal for this time of year. There are no hints of snow in the forecast.
The frigid temperatures and snowfall come as other parts of the U.S. battle scorching temperatures that are pushing daily highs into record-breaking territory. Earlier this week, cities in Indiana and Illinois broke daily high records, and other cities including St. Louis, Missouri, and Louisville, Kentucky, tied their highs.
Heat remains over the eastern U.S. on Thursday, although temperatures will begin cooling to average numbers by the end of the weekend.