Montana

Heavy Snow to Impact Montana With Risk to Power Lines

Published

2 years ago

May 22, 2024

Heavy Snow to Impact Montana With Risk to Power Lines

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) – The National Weather Service is calling for heavy, wet snow to impact areas of southwestern Montana, including several mountain passes.

I spoke to National Weather Service Meteorologist Alex Lukinbeal on Tuesday who provided details of the incoming system.

Heavy Snow is Possible in Southwest Montana into Thursday

“We have a potent Pacific low-pressure system that’s going to be moving across central Idaho down through southwest Montana,” began Lukinbeal. “It’s going to be wrapping a lot of moisture around that low pressure causing the snow levels to drop anywhere from about 4,700 feet to 5,000 feet Wednesday night into Thursday morning.”

Lukinbeal said those traveling over mountain passes in the area should be prepared for heavy snow.

“The main areas of concern for heavy snowfall are really going to set up down in southwest Montana,” he said. “That would include the I-90 corridor, anywhere from about Anaconda down through Butte. Other areas along the divide and over the mountain passes like Georgetown Lake, McDonald Pass, and Homestake Pass are going to be seeing the brunt of the heavy snow and that’s where our confidence is increasing for at least anywhere from about six to 12 inches of snowfall.”

Georgetown Lake, McDonald, and Homestake Passes to be Affected

Lukinbeal said some areas affected could see new records set for snowfall this late in the spring.

“I also do want to mention that there is potential for snow even in the valley locations,” he said. “Places like Phillipsburg, Anaconda and Butte. There’s kind of a low threat that we could potentially be seeing five to six inches of snow in Butte. In fact, there’s a 10 percent probability that you might have the most snow in late May since 1999.”

I asked Lukinbeal how this system might affect the upcoming wildfire season.

READ MORE: Snow then 80? Sure Because It’s May in Montana

The Heavy Spring Rain will help Western Montana’s Water Levels

“The spring rains are definitely an important piece of the puzzle,” he said. “We look at fire season and the widespread nature of this precipitation is definitely going to have at least short-term impacts as far as there being areas of abnormal dryness and the drought in place. There’s potential for this system and then there’s another system showing up this weekend that’s going to be bringing another round of rain. I think the bottom line is, at least in the short term, this precipitation is going to be beneficial to help us get closer to that normal precipitation for a lot of areas throughout the year and potentially have some consequences to hopefully impact the drought.”

One aspect of the storm will be possible power outages given the heavy wet snow on trees and power lines.

20 Best Montana License Plate Designs

If you want to switch up your Montana license plate, here are a few options.

Gallery Credit: Will Gordon

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Montana

Montana Lottery Powerball, Lotto America results for March 2, 2026

Published

4 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at March 2, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from March 2 drawing

02-17-18-38-62, Powerball: 20, Power Play: 2

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lotto America numbers from March 2 drawing

03-08-17-24-34, Star Ball: 06, ASB: 02

Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from March 2 drawing

06-12-19-29, Bonus: 11

Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from March 2 drawing

21-28-58-65-67, Powerball: 25

Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 2 drawing

28-41-42-50-55, Bonus: 02

Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

When are the Montana Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 9 p.m. MT on Tuesday and Friday.
Lucky For Life: 8:38 p.m. MT daily.
Lotto America: 9 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Big Sky Bonus: 7:30 p.m. MT daily.
Powerball Double Play: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Montana Cash: 8 p.m. MT on Wednesday and Saturday.
Millionaire for Life: 9:15 p.m. MT daily.

Missed a draw? Peek at the past week’s winning numbers.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Great Falls Tribune editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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Montana

Apparent AI Glitch in Filing by Montana Public Defender, Recent Congressional Candidate

Published

16 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Apparent AI Glitch in Filing by Montana Public Defender, Recent Congressional Candidate

Everyone makes mistakes, even experienced professionals; a good reminder for the rest of us to learn from those mistakes. The motion in State v. Stroup starts off well in its initial pages (no case law hallucinations), but is then followed by several pages of two other motions, which I don’t think the lawyer was planning to file, and which appear to have been AI-generated: It begins with the “Below is concise motion language you can drop into …” language quoted above.

Griffen Smith (Missoulian) reported on the story, and included the prosecutor’s motion to strike that filing, on the grounds that it violates a local rule (3(G)) requiring disclosure of the use of generative AI:

The document does not include a generative artificial intelligence disclosure as required. However, page 7 begins as follows: “Below is concise motion language you can drop into a ‘Motion to Admit Mental-Disease Evidence and for Related Instructions’ keyed to 45-6-204, 45-6-201, and 4614-102. Adjust headings/captions to your local practice.” Page 10 states “Below is a full motion you can paste into your pleading, then adjust names, dates, and styles to fit local practice.” These pages also include several apparent hyperlinks to “ppl-ai-file-upload.s3.amazonaws,” “ppl-ai-fileupload.s3.amazonaws+1,” and others. The document includes what appears to be an attempt at a second case caption on page 12. It is not plausible on its face that any source other than generative AI would have created such language for a filed version of a brief….

There’s more in that filing, but here’s one passage:

While generative AI can be a useful tool for some purposes and may have greater application in the future, when used improperly, and without meaningful review, it can ultimately damage both the perception and the reality of the profession. One assumes that Mr. Stroup has had, or will at some point have, an opportunity to review the filing made on his behalf. What impression could a review of pgs. 12-19 leave upon a defendant who struggles with paranoia and delusional thinking? While AI could theoretically one day become a replacement for portions of staff of experienced attorneys, it is readily apparent that this day has not yet arrived.

The Missoulan article includes this response:

In a Wednesday interview, Office of Public Defender Division Administrator Brian Smith told the Missoulian the AI-generated language was inadvertently included in an unrelated filing. And he criticized the county attorney’s office for filing a “four-page diatribe about the dangers of AI” instead of working with the defense to correct her mistake.
“That’s not helping the client or the case,” Smith said, “and all you are doing is trying to throw a professional colleague under the bus.”

As I mentioned, the lawyer involved seems quite experienced, and ran for the Montana Public Service Commission in 2020 (getting nearly 48% of the vote) and for the House of Representatives in Montana’s first district in 2022 (getting over 46% of the vote) and in 2024 (getting over 44%). “Его пример другим наука,” Pushkin wrote in Eugene Onegin—”May his example profit others,” in the Falen translation.

Thanks to Matthew Monforton for the pointer.

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