I love hearing different people's perceptions of this winter. Some say it's been too cold and snowy, while others of you weird winter lovers out there say this winter's been nothing but a piece of cake.
One thing is for sure is that below-average temperatures and above-average snowfall has lingered into spring. March has been the month with the highest aberration with regard to temperature and snow as most of Montana has been way below normal temperatures and way above on snowfall.
If you think you've had it bad, the harshest conditions have been out the Hi-Line across northeast Montana. So far this month Glasgow is 14 degrees below normal and 13" of snow above average. Havre is a wild 16 degrees below normal for the month with a half foot of above-normal snow. Cutbank, Lewistown and Great Falls are more than 10 degrees below normal. Helena is more than 8 degrees below normal with 3 times the amount of average snow.
Remember the brutal December arctic outbreak? Well, most of the state was 5 to 10 degrees below normal for that month with snow checking in a few inches above average.
What may be hard to remember is January and February were a few degrees above average with below-normal snowfall.
Overall, temperatures have been below average by 2 to 5 degrees. Snow has generally been above average for most of the state with Great Falls, Havre and Glasgow receiving about 24" more than normal.
So it's been a good, Montana winter and apparently old man winter is not flying north just yet with the snow geese.
