As heat advisories and tornado watches dominate forecasts across much of the United States, Montana’s Beartooth Highway is seeing snow and wind gusts of up to 55 mph.
The unusual conditions highlight the remarkable elevation-driven weather extremes along the iconic mountain route. Even in midsummer, visitors can encounter winter-like conditions near the summit while lower elevations remain warm and dry, making the Beartooth Highway one of the country’s most meteorologically dynamic roadways.
The Advisory Is Real — and So Is the Snow
The National Weather Service in Billings issued a Winter Weather Advisory for the Absaroka/Beartooth Mountains until 9 AM MDT Thursday, warning of up to 2 inches of snow and wind gusts reaching 55 mph along the Beartooth Highway.
Slippery road conditions are expected, and “the combination of strong winds and falling snow may result in locally reduced visibility, especially in unsheltered areas.”
This is not a freak event. It is not a record. It is, in fact, almost entirely expected.
The Road That Lives Above the Clouds
The Beartooth Highway — US Route 212, stretching 68.7 miles from Red Lodge, Montana to Cooke City near Yellowstone’s northeast entrance — crests at 10,947 feet above sea level. That is higher than most of the Alps. The summit is above the treeline, above most weather systems, and squarely in the zone where June functions more like March.
The late CBS journalist Charles Kuralt, who drove more American roads than perhaps anyone in history, called it “the most beautiful drive in America.” That reputation is built on the switchbacks, the glacial lakes, the granite plateaus and the jaw-dropping views. It is also built on the road’s complete indifference to the calendar.
Snow usually remains at higher elevations until early to mid-July. June snowstorms are simply part of the Beartooth experience. Last June, the pass received 12 to 14 inches of snow and closed completely for several days.
This Season’s Timeline Is Already Remarkable
The Beartooth only reopened on May 21, 2026 after crews cleared substantial snowdrifts from the summit — less than three weeks ago. At the time, the Montana Department of Transportation explicitly warned that “temporary travel restrictions or full road closures can still occur at any time without notice.” Wednesday’s advisory is exactly the kind of event they were describing.
What Today’s Advisory Means for Drivers
For anyone planning to drive the Beartooth today or Thursday morning before the advisory expires at 9 AM MDT: check the Montana 511 road conditions line before departure and bring warm clothes, tire chains or all-weather tires, and extra fuel.
The highway has no services for most of its length, and rescue response times at 10,000 feet are not fast.
The advisory does not mean the road is closed — just that conditions above 7,500 feet are winter-like, with slick surfaces and potential for reduced visibility in exposed areas near the summit. Check the Montana DOT road conditions before heading out.
Why This Makes the Beartooth Worth Every Mile
Here is the counterintuitive truth about driving America’s greatest alpine highway in June: the possibility of snow is part of what makes it extraordinary. The same elevation that generates a Winter Weather Advisory in the middle of summer also produces the glacial tarns, the lingering snowfields, the mountain goats on the roadside and the 360-degree views that make the Beartooth unlike any other paved road in the country. Pack for all four seasons, check conditions, and point the car uphill. The snow, if it comes, only adds to the story.
