Question
The wind deposits large snowdrifts onto my lawn near the house and sometimes I shovel driveway snow onto the side lawn. In the spring there appears to be white dust where the drift once was... and dead lawn, all summer long.  I live in Montana and the spring melt/freeze cycle has me thinking that the emerging spring lawn gets its roots frozen numerous times due to the drifts melting.  Thanks for you help in advance.

Answer
What grass are you growing for that lawn, Brian?  Best growth for your Cool Season grass is Spring and Fall.  Summer and Winter trigger dormancy.  They should be bright Spring Green colored at Winter's end.  Just checking...

That white dust sounds like you may be using ice-melting salt crystals at some point during the winter -- or your local roads maintenance people are doing that for you, getting that powder all over everything.  When the snow melts, the lawn shows all that winter damage.

Compounding the problem could be soil drainage.  With the right growing medium, freeze/thaw would not kill grass.  Snowdrifts meanwhile would protect from freeze/thaw by insulating the frozen ground.

One thing at a time.  What's the salt situation?  Do you plead guilty or not guilty?  rsvp!