Montana weather

[Three Foot Johnson]

These stats never fail to amaze me.

 

#1). July 5, 1937. The temperature topped out at 117F at Medicine Lake in northeastern Montana. This tied the all-time high temperature for Montana previously established at Glendive on July 20, 1893. Combined with the -70F at Roger's Pass in 1954 (#5), this makes the all-time temperature range recorded in Montana 187F. This is the most extreme temperature range ever recorded in the United States.

 

#2). January 11, 1980. The temperature at the Great Falls International Airport rose from -32F to 15F in seven minutes as warm, Chinook winds eroded an Arctic air mass. This 47 degree rise in seven minutes stands as the record for the most rapid temperature change ever registered in the United States.

 

#3). December 14, 1924. The temperature at Fairfield, Montana (about 20 miles WNW of Great Falls), dropped from 63F at noon to -21F at midnight. This 84 degree change in 12 hours still stands as the greatest 12 hour temperature change ever recorded in the United States.

 

#4). April 25-26, 1969. A late season storm brought a drastic change in weather to eastern Montana. A day after numerous stations registered their highest temperature for the month (many in the 80s), a cold front swept through Montana bringing blizzard conditions to much of the eastern half of the state. Temperatures fell more than 50 degrees in 24 hours with wind chill readings well below zero for nearly 48 hours.

Snowfall amounts of over 1 foot were widespread with higher amounts including a 32 inch tally reported near Sonnette. Wind whipped the fresh snow into drifts reported to be over 20 feet high in places. Power and phone lines were knocked out. Utility lines downed over a 12 county area resulted in losses of nearly $2 million (1998 dollars). Some residents of southeastern Montana were without power for two weeks and without telephone service for over a month. Over 100,000 sheep, horses and cattle were lost with cost in today's dollars tallying well over $10 million.

 

#5). January 20, 1954. The temperature at Roger's Pass, Montana, (about 25 miles NW of Helena) dropped to -70F (True temperature, NOT a wind chill!). This still stands as the coldest temperature ever recorded in the lower 48 United States.

 

#6). January 23, 1916. An Arctic cold front slammed through Browning, Montana, dropping the temperature from 44F to -56F in 24 hours. This 100 degree change stands as the most dramatic temperature change ever recorded in 24 hours in the United States.

 

#7). January 30 through February 4, 1989. A bitterly cold Arctic air mass invaded the northern Rockies bringing record cold temperatures and extreme wind chills to Montana. Ahead of the front, on January 30th, downslope winds gusted to 100 mph at Shelby, 102 mph at Cut Bank, 114 mph in Augusta, 117 mph at Browning and 124 mph at Choteau. Twelve empty railroad cars were blown over in Shelby. Elsewhere, roofs were blown off homes, mobile homes were rolled over or torn apart and numerous trees and power lines were blown down.

With the passing of the Arctic front on the 31st, temperatures dropped dramatically. In Helena, the temperature remained colder than -20F for 84 hours (three and a half days) including a record low, -33F, on the fourth. Wind chill values during this period dropped to -75F. The cold caused the brakes to fail on a freight train preparing to cross the Continental Divide on McDonald Pass west of Helena; the train then rolled, uncontrolled, into Helena, where it slammed into another train and exploded causing extensive damage to Carroll College. LINK

 

The Austin/Helena train wreck is a story unto itself, and caused tens of millions of dollars in immediate and extended damage due to the initial blast and lengthy power outages throughout the area during 35 below zero weather. It was a great year for the plumbing business. The new Carroll College P.E. center was destroyed, and windows were reportedly broken up to five miles away. I live 14 miles out, and the blast shook my house like a major earthquake. Miraculously, no one was even seriously injured, let alone killed.

 

In Billings, record lows were established for 5 consecutive days. Bozeman set record lows for four consecutive days. In Missoula, record lows of -22F and -23F were established on the 2nd and the 3rd, respectively. Wisdom, Montana, saw the mercury drop to -52F on February 3rd.

As the cold front moved through Great Falls on January 31st, the temperature dropped from 54F to -23F (a 67F change) and did not rise to above -20F until February 4th. This included two record low temperatures (-35F and -33F) on the 3rd and 4th.

Between January 30th and February 5th, four people lost their lives with damage estimates well into the tens of millions of dollars.

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The west might be tamed, but Mother Nature still makes it a brutal place to live from time to time.

[Blasted Cap]

Getting ready for Fall and Winter J Bar? Slept with the windows open last night as it got down to 50 in the sticks where I live.

[Poverty Bill, SASS# 45790]

MONTANA the Last Best Place.

 

Been warm up here in Great Falls, if it keeps up, go'n have to take the Long Johns off.