Clancy MT DW9972

Yes we indeed got lucky in this part of the state in regards to massive fires except for the handful of small ones that popped up and got put out fairly quickly. I have seen a total of 6.90" since July which was much needed and came at just the right time! I am happy to say that so far this year, I am currently at 14.44" total precip which has already beat last years total precip. I am curious what this winter has to bring though....

We just hit 97F about an hour ago once the wind picked up, thankfully there has been periods of cloud cover to allow me to get some outside stuff done. I am certainly satisfied with how this summer turned out. Funny thing is, back in Mid September 2017, the 15th and 16th, it was hot like it is right now and that summer was dry as a bone with insane smoke, I kid you not, the very next day we had 9" of heavy, wet, destructive snow fall during the night. I had to stay up all night to knock snow out of the trees to keep the branches from snapping, and every 5 seconds I would hear branches snapping all over the neighborhood, but the snow continued through the following day and it accumulated on everything even though the ground was baked from the summer heat.

I have to admit, I am ready for fall! The last few weeks of above 90 degree temps have wiped me out. However I will certainly say that this summer has been more active than the last 2 have combined. Along with the 5 or so T-Storms that each dropped a ton of rain over the summer has been a welcome and needed godsend. So far for the year, I am at 10.99" of precip which is not too shabby. As for the nasty smoke, we got really lucky to have clearer skies all through August, which almost never happens, even though September is another story. How did your summer turn out for you Kayla?

Helena got hammered that day! I took a drive with my folks about an hour after the storm hit and the dirt, gravel and various sized rocks were all over the streets. I heard about an inch of rain fell in about 30 to 45 minutes. Last Saturday we got a very similar storm 10 miles south of town "Clancy " where I live. 0.91" fell in a half an hour and the runoff was amazing! Thankfully we live in the foothills so no flood damage but the driveway was a river. Helena sees triple digits about roughly 3 to 4 times a year, I live at 4500 feet which is a good bit higher than Helena and I have seen 99 degrees officially according to my Vantage Pro 2, but the other less expensive thermometers around the house show anywhere from 100 to 110 degrees while under the eves on the north side of the house lol. Note the 2 good sized water collection ponds in the photos, the one in the right pic is right below the driveway and was overflowing big time, the second lower pond in the middle pic is to catch the overflow from the upper one. Unfortunately the lower one suffered severe erosion due to water pouring in from everywhere else, but I will patch it up and all will be good until the next storm!

I more than happy to be halfway thru July without triple digit temps! We finally had some pretty active storms the last couple of weeks that dropped a total of 2.04" so far for the month, so hopefully that will push back the fire season a little....

I feel so bad for those folks along the water who lost their homes and businesses. As for Yellowstone Park, and the entrances, I sure hope things settle down enough for them to possibly salvage some tourism this year because Gardiner would be a ghost town otherwise. I saw a number of the videos and photos, and wow! I can't believe how someones home is completely wiped out in seconds. I am glad you guys didn't get flooded out, and kudos for fostering those kittens !

Crazy how quickly these floods came roaring in!! Especially after being unusually cold since May. You didn't get flooding at your place did you?

Yeah we do run a little bit drier only 80 or so miles away lol. I just cant get over how cold this spring has been, the trees are just now starting to leaf out and that hard freeze/ frost we had a week or so ago killed a bunch of tree buds I am noticing now. The creeks are just now starting to rise and get muddy. If it stays in this wet pattern, I wont complain, but we need just a little bit warmer temperatures, just a little bit....

Wow Kayla, you guys really got drenched!! I got a little over an inch from this storm and now up to 1.80 for the month, and only 5.72" for the year. Where are you at for the year so far?

This month has been a massive improvement compared to the last several months in regards to moisture! I have measured a little over 2 in of precip this month with about 20 in of snow when all said and done. May and June are critical though because they are the 2 wettest months of the year.

Yes! things are slowly improving which is great, but for many areas, what moisture did fall, was just a drop in the bucket. May and June are known as our wettest months of the year, so if things work out in our favor, maybe we can push fire season away a bit.

Southwest Montana has always been difficult for the radar to pick up anything.

I should perform a rain dance! Funny thing though, back in early 2002, a large group of folks on 1 of the reservations somewhere in the state, can't remember which one, performed a rain dance performance which was in the newspapers and the local news stations! And guess what? the vast majority of the state ended that year with well above normal moisture!

In the last couple hours once the front went thru, I saw a few flakes and tons of nonstop wind. I just added up my total precip from Oct 2021 to Mar 31st and wound up with 3.53" liquid total, and 1.70" so far for the year. The really strange thing about this "winter" was that when we did actually get snow, it was never ever over 2" inches from each storm. Every winter I can remember either wet or dry, we would certainly get at least 1 good dumping with over 5"inches or more. Bozeman has been lucking out though, but I can certainly tell that all the mountains in this region are not looking too great. I will say this though, I have all the respect in the world for the NWS, however its concerning when they get everyones hopes up promising moisture and then end up with nothing. lol.

Howdy all! Now that we are into Spring, I must say that since mid January to now has been absolutely uneventful in regards to any meaningful snow for my region "southwest MT". Since October I have measured only 35" of snow this entire winter, which is quite a bummer, as we normally get more than twice that amount. Anyways a trend I have noticed for a little over 2 years and I am sure many of you have as well, is that whenever the NWS posts their weekly, monthly, and 3 month outlooks for temps and precip chances for this region, they have simply been way too generous in regards to better than average chances for above normal precip across much of the state. However, when all is said and done, maybe a few localized areas wound up getting the predicted moisture. So even though I know its virtually impossible to accurately forecast that far out, how come they keep pushing for the above normal chances, when every previous outlook has failed miserably, and the next one will most likely as well? I have been trying to figure out why even attempt to do an outlook that far in advance. Thats my rant I thought I would share.

You guys just keep getting all of the good snow!! Up here a little south of Helena, we have only had maybe 20" of snow this winter and over half of that melted soon after it fell. Great photos!

"I thought you would be bigger."

2019 for the win! In my area "southwestern" Montana, we got hit multiple times with several feet of snow from each storm and it barely melted until mid March. That snow had at least a 4 to 5" inch water content. April thru mid July brought us several severe thunderstorms which dropped over 1" of rain within ten minutes at least 2 times. The second half of July was fairly dry, until the second week of August, and yet again we got hit with a few more severe thunderstorms that dropped 1"inch + as well. September was insanely wet with us getting well over 3" inch of rain. October thru November brought us above normal precip. However December was bone dry and nothing to write home about. I loved 2019 because It has most definitely been the most active, wettest, snowiest year I can remember. 2020 and 2021 didn't even have a single memorable event.

2019 for sure. We had so much good moisture that year!

We gotta keep our fingers crossed!

Yikes! That's pretty dry for Bozeman. You guys normally get like 18 +inches a year. I am assuming you have a Davis Rain collector? I have the heater as well but in order to get the most accurate water content readings,, I found that its best to switch it on after the snow has stopped and as soon as it starts snowing again, turn it off, due to the weird evaporation that it causes to the light dry snow.

Hey Kayla! What did your total precipitation end up being for 2021? I wound up at 14.50" which isnt terrible, but not that great either. lol