Weather in Montana (Billings, Missoula, Great Falls: tornadoes, live, gardening)

[OWN14]

I've considered relocating and Montana (Missoula, Billings, Great Falls) is one of the areas that I am considering. There are alot of things about Montana that appeal to me, but the big detractor is the cold weather. I have always lived in either Oklahoma or Texas and consider myself a warm-weather guy and love the summer months; although our summers can be brutal - possibly like Montana winters..?

My question is this: Without giving me links to weather data, can anyone who is from, or very familiar with, Oklahoma/Texas climate comment on the differences between the weather between the regions? Is outdoor gardening at all possible?

Thanks

[historyfan]

Winter is severe in Montana. Some places much more so than others. I think sunny day index charts for solar energy are helpful. It does not seem tedious when the sun is shining.

Winter also is nastier with addition of North wind, so places with less wind are desireable. Compared to OK-TX the air is also dry here. There is big difference between dry cold &moist cold. But it does get darn cold. All parts can have brutal weather but some are less likely to have as long winter as others.

Gardening is done across the state. Some areas have a 120+ day growing season while others are lucky to get 45days. It depends on elevation and latitude and microclimates. As rule of thumb, if farmers grow feed corn in the area gardening will be easy. There are places in Southeastern &Eastern Montana that get hot like OK in summer but generally are less scrubby. We have better grazing lands anywhere in Montana than the best in OK or TX.

A plus is that tornadoes are infrequent in Montana. If you move here, become a weather forecast watcher and heed forecast. Being prepared is key to easy winters in Montana.