Banana Belt Towns and Windy Cities (Billings, Missoula: homes, travel, college)

[be_a_light]

I have lived in Montana for about 5 years. I have lived in Superior and Eureka, two towns that claim to be "banana belt" towns--towns with winters that are more moderate in temperature.

I did a brief search on Google to see what communities in Montana claim to be "banana belt" communities. The communities in the Ruby Valley, (Sheridan, Twin Bridges, etc.) the Bitterroot Valley, (Hamilton, Stevensville, etc.) and the Lower Clark Fork region (Alberton, Superior, etc.) come up as well as Billings. I don't know if "banana belt" is a marketing label or a meteorlogical label for these communities.

I have noticed an overall increase of winds in western Montana. Has Montana become one big wind machine or are there still some areas that are protected from the wind? Conventional knowledge says that communities nestled in mountain valleys should be less windy but that doesn't really hold up in some areas anymore.

Let's chat.

[ElkHunter]

That's an interesting theory. I have limited travel to Montana, Billings area, but I've noticed a drop in winds and temps over the last 10 years. Not an increase. Forsyth hasn't changed a bit in the last 10 years. But I'm limited. Billings or Forsyth. haha I only get to both of them about 5 times a week.

Used to go to Billings and they had hard winters. Not so much anymore. But Forsyth hasn't changed an inch in 10 years. haha

[rickers]

The weather is so helter skelter anymore all over, and Montana's weather has always been unpredictable anyway. All I know is that in my town here in the center of the real banana belt, (and coincidentally, also the center of the universe, ha ha), it is raining and melting the small amount of snow that we recently received ! I have been enjoying the weather lately. I also must add that many of my neighbors living on this hillside had a bit of trouble with traction getting up the hill to their homes night before last.

[NYMTman]

Having graduated college with a minor in Meteorology I can verify that there is no technical "banana belt" of Montana. Missoula's reputation has it warmer than towns like Bozeman and Helena but statistically that is not true at all. Temperature-wise, the climate varies little from Missoula to Bozeman to Helena to Billings to Great Falls. Kalispell is a touch colder, and Butte is a bit colder still, but the difference is negligible.

The term "banana belt" is mostly a myth propogated by realtors looking to make a buck. According to them the entire state minus West Yellowstone and Cut Bank is a banana belt. Also by and large a myth that Montana doesn't get winters like it used to. Temps have warmed a bit, of course, but the past decade has been the snowiest in history for many recording stations... Bozeman included.

Anyway, there's my rant

[NYMTman]

As far as the wind is concerned, certain areas tend to get more windy than others. Bozeman hardly ever gets windy, but Livingston is a true "windy city." A lot of that has to do with regional topography - Livingston lies at the far northern end of Paradise Valley. Due to that valley's north-south orientation pressure gradients often form perpendicular to it, creating roaring winds. Areas like Great Falls, Cut Bank, and to a lesser extent, Helena, also get extremely windy due to downsloping winds (called "chinooks" by the locals) off the Rocky Mountain Front. Anaconda also tends to get downsloped off the Pintlers... resulting in catastrophies like the recent windstorm a few weeks ago resulting in gusts to 95mph. But then other areas like Bozeman, Missoula, and Kalispell are not in wind-prone areas at all, despite being in the same general region of the state. It has to do with how the mountains are situated around the valley itself. When the tallest mountains are directly to the west, you get downsloping, nasty winds. When the tallest mountains are directly to the east, you get blocking and little winds. And, as said earlier, north-south oriented valleys are always windier still.

[NYMTman]

And one last thing... windy areas tend to get less snow than non-windy areas (due to mountain topography and upsloping/downsloping). So in general you have to choose between one or the other when moving here.

[rickers]

Our town is not only smack dab in the rain shadow of the Cabinet Mountains but also quite sheltered from the wind because of the hollow it is tucked into. The Flathead Indian Reservation happens to be in a pocket of geography that has very mild weather all year long compared to many other areas that also claim to be in this so called banana belt. I travel all over the state for my business (See my business profile on City Data page for Hot Springs Montana) and on any given foray to other parts of the state I am usually very happy to get home for many reasons, one of which is the weather ! If I were to claim any part of Montana to be in "the banana belt" it would certainly not include Kalispell or Missoula at all, and certainly not the Bitterroot valley !
I would say the banana belt is only The Flathead Reservation valley areas along with the low elevation corridors next to Idaho such as Thompson falls and Libby areas.