Winters are they that bad? (Missoula: military, work, inspection)

[blackdogs-mt]

Missoula sits down in a bowl or valley like area, so in the winter when people with wood burning stoves for heat burn, then the clouds hanging low, the air quality gets bad sometimes. Missoula is gloomier than areas north or south of it like Polson or Stevensville. But it is a great middle sized city with all amenities. Not the prettiest city in the state but nice. Not familiar with any school info in Missoula, sorry. When you visit, you should plan one day to drive north on hwy 93 and one day to drive south on hwy 93 and just check out both sides of Missoula. The smaller towns each way are awesome. So is the scenery. Make sure to drive all the way North to view Flathead lake, about 79 miles. Largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi.

[GiftShoppeGuy]

Originally Posted by montan6612

Interesting to note that no one is telling you about the days of below zero highs in the eastern part of the state......add a bit of wind to that weather and then you really start to have fun!

Sure...

When you add a bit of wind, the temps warm up to 40 or 50....

We call them "Chinooks"

Is there a chance?

[wsm41bn]

Do ya need a block heater there?

[jimj]

Originally Posted by GiftShoppeGuy

Sure...

When you add a bit of wind, the temps warm up to 40 or 50....

We call them "Chinooks"

Is there a chance?

Where would that be, surely not here....When we get winds the temp drops like a stone!

[grace1231]

We are specifically asking about the Billings area. We have a 4WD already, what would we need to do to winterize our vehicle? What do the majority of people use as their main heat source?

[GiftShoppeGuy]

Originally Posted by jimj

Where would that be, surely not here....When we get winds the temp drops like a stone!

Wibaux or Miles City maybe won't experience these, but along the eastern rocky mountain front, it's always this way with chinooks.

Granted, there are wind chill figures, but that really isn't given to real weather conditions....

I've even seen the effects of chinook as far east as Big Timber (wind blows worse in Big Timber than it ever does in Great Falls), and yup... You guessed it, Billings, which, incidently, is anything but flat, and chinook winds carry well throughout the Yellowstone basin.

Chinooks are usually borne out of a west/southwest wind....
Wind coming from the north or east will usually drop the temps in any part of the state 99% of the time.

[GiftShoppeGuy]

Originally Posted by grace1231

We are specifically asking about the Billings area. We have a 4WD already, what would we need to do to winterize our vehicle? What do the majority of people use as their main heat source?

Sure, get a block heater for your car or truck... we've all got them.
Good anti-freeze and good treaded tires, not necessarily snow tires.

I haven't run snow tires here for twenty years, or tire chains for that matter on any of our domestic rigs. (all of ours are 4 wheel drive except one and it's a front wheel drive)

Snow on the east, like say Billings?, is dry. Dry snow isn't near as slick as the wet heavy stuff Missoula or Kalispell gets. And you really only need studded tires for freezing rain, which Billings never gets either.

The choice is ultimately up to you though.

Heating sources?

Natural Gas, Wood, Propane, Electric are the top 4 and not necessarily in that order

[grace1231]

A big thanks goes out to all of you who have taken the time to answer our questions. We are southerners looking to make a life change, so all the help we can get is greatly appreciated.

[ajf131]

Originally Posted by NYMTman

North and East of Billings is going to be bitter. You won't even get chinooks out there, and cold fronts are going to plow right in with only some fences in the way.

On the plus side, if you don't like snow, you won't get much out there. It's very dry. Expect about 20-25 inches per year, which is comparable to what New York City gets each winter.

I can't believe that's what you define as not much snow....wow....guess the farther north you go the more snow "Not much" tends to mean

[wsm41bn]

so i shouldnt have a problem in my Dodge 5/4 ton Fulltime 4wd, Baja claw radial tires, and a 2000 watt circulting tank heater?