Where's the snow? It’s a common question people ask this time of year. There is snow out there and plenty of it, you just gotta know where to go.
The latest snowpack data from the first day of winter shows very healthy snow water equivalent in the mountains, with most basins near or above average. The Bear Paw mountains are 143% of normal. The Flathead, Sun-Teton-Marias, and Upper Clark Fork are 122-125% of normal. The St. Mary, Upper Missouri, Smith-Judith-Musselshell, Yellowstone, Bitterroot and Bighorn basins are all above average. The rest are not much below average.
November was a very dry month. Mother Nature flipped a switch just after Thanksgiving. December precipitation has been well, well above normal. And even with that dry December, the entire state is well above average so far this water year.
So far this season, the weather pattern has consisted of stronger-than-normal atmospheric rivers coming in from the Pacific. This usually brings in milder temperatures but abundant moisture. While snow in the lower elevations is just a little below normal, the mountains have received plenty, and this pattern should continue well into winter.
