Drought is always a concern for everyone from recreation to ranching here in Montana. In this week's Weather Wise, meteorologist Curtis Grevenitz shows the latest drought information and how good a situation it is currently for Montana.
Here in Montana, the word drought is almost as common as the phrase "we need the moisture". But recently, Big Sky Country has received a significant amount of moisture in the form of rain and snow. There has been so much precipitation over the last few months, the area of drought in Montana is the least it's been in quite some time.
According to the latest from the US Drought Monitor, nearly 80% of Montana is not in drought. The worst location is southeastern Montana where extreme drought persists for places like Broadus, Ekalaka and Baker, making about 5% of the state. Approximately 20% of the state is in moderate, severe or extreme drought.
There has been a decrease in the drought over the last year, with much less of the state in drought over the last 3 months. One year ago, 47% of the state was in some level of drought. That number was 53% in July. But since then, that number has dropped to 20% currently.
August and September had above average precipitation for most of the state with near average temperatures. More recently in October, a very large storm produced widespread rain and snow. If some parts of Montana did not receive another drop this month, October precipitation would finish above average.
Drought comes and goes, and it almost certainly will come back at some point for many of us. For right now though, let's enjoy the moment where we don't necessarily have to say "we need the moisture".
Meteorologist Curtis Grevenitz
