La Niña fizzling out, could cut hurricane risk
East and gulf coasts more likely to see storms when system is strong
WASHINGTON - The climate phenomena known as La Niña is ending and neutral conditions are expected into the fall, government forecasters said Thursday. The change can affect weather worldwide… (more)
Snow in July? A Mixed Blessing in the Rockies
ST. MARY, Mont. — With diesel smoke and white powder flying, heavy equipment operators worked furiously to remove enough snow to open the Going-to-the-Sun road, which connects the two sides of Glacier National Park and is usually open by the first week of June… (more)
Northeast remains very dry
By TOM LUTEY
Of The Gazette Staff
Last month, as Montanans teetering on the edge of drought were suddenly singing in the rain, folks in Raymond Wang's parched northeast corner of the state were singing the blues…(more)
May rains great for state's wheat crop
By JENNIFER McKEE
Gazette State Bureau
HELENA – A soppy May rescued the state's wheat crop and dampened drought conditions in all but one Montana county, statistics show. "This was, in fact, the billion-dollar rain," said Peggy Stringer, director of the National Agriculture Statistics Service's Montana office. She spoke Thursday at a meeting of the Governor's Drought Advisory Committee… (more)
Blame the jet stream for recent run of rainy weather
Bozeman Daily Chronicle; Date:
June 3, 2008
The Gallatin Valley is in the midst of the May-June rainy season, and during the run-up to Memorial Day things got a bit out of hand along local rivers and creeks. What happened? Beginning Wednesday, May 21, the jet stream dove south over the western United States, creating a deep, upperlevel trough with cool temperatures and abundant moisture… (more)
Larger Pacific Climate Event Helps Current La Nina Linger
April 21, 2008
PASADENA, Calif. – Boosted by the influence of a larger climate event in the Pacific, one of the strongest La Niñas in many years is slowly weakening but continues to blanket the Pacific Ocean near the equator, as shown by new sea-level height data collected by the U.S.-French Jason oceanographic satellite… (more)
Hoeven declares drought emergency for ND
BISMARCK, N.D. – With extended dry conditions across the state and little significant rainfall in the forecast, Gov. John Hoeven today declared a statewide "early phase agricultural drought emergency…" (more)
Montana's Snowpack Bodes Well—If It Doesn't Melt Too Fast
By Kyle Lehman, 5-01-08
Montana's cool La Nina year has meant that much of the state's high country snow pack is close to its historic average, but according to regional experts, how long it sticks around depends on this spring's temperatures… (more)
Normal snowpack won't compensate for dry Plains
April 7, 2008
By the Associated Press
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The mountain snowpack is slightly above normal, but the Army Corps of Engineers is forecasting only 80 percent of normal runoff into the Missouri River system this year. "The snowpack normally peaks in mid-April… (more)
Climate Prediction Center Forecasts La Nina Event to Continue
Atmospheric and oceanic conditions during February 2008 continued to reflect a strong La Niña… (more)
Banking on spring
By MARTIN J. KIDSTON
Independent Record
March 11, 2008
Lewis and Clark County remains “slightly dry” despite an above-average snowpack at mountain elevations. Several surrounding counties, including Broadwater and Jefferson, are also listed as “moderately dry” and remain under a drought-alert status… (more)
Snowpack at least average
By The Associated Press
February 22, 2008
The state says that the mountain snowpack is running from average to above average in places. But it's too early to tell what that means for the summer. If all the snow melts in an early rush, the state could still be dealing with water shortages later in the year… (More)
2 reports urge big changes in water usage in West
By MIKE STARK
The Billings Gazette
February 01, 2008
The West is big, growing and thirsty. But the water that sustains it is in shorter supply these days - thanks in part to human influence on the earth's climate - and it's time for a profound shift in how it's managed across the West, according to two papers published Thursday in the professional journal Science… (more)
Early snowpack measurements high
By PERRY BACKUS of the Missoulian
If you're the superstitious type, you might want to knock on some wood before you utter this next sentence. So far, the snowpack in western Montana is actually looking pretty good. Of course, Roy Kaiser is quick to point out that it's way too early to start making plans for irrigating crops or rafting a favorite river next summer. A lot can happen between now and next spring… (more)
Record heat a hot topic for Bozeman in 2007
Bozeman Daily Chronicle
January 7, 2008
Greg Ainsworth
Two stories dominated the weather news across the Gallatin Valley in 2007 – record heat and rain clouds that seemed unusually attracted to Bozeman — at Belgrade's expense. A common statistic used by climatologists is mean annual temperature, which is the average of the mean maximum and the mean minimum for the year… (more)
