Missoula winters (Bozeman, Livingston, Belgrade: school, quality of life, live)

[JoeJoeMan]

OK here you go...................

Lots of folks are always asking about "how is the winter there"

Well tonight according the weatherman (if you can beleive him ) it's going down to -9 - that's NINE BELOW, burrr....but we've seen worse before and probably will again. And looks like the cold spell is/will be around for a bit.

Anyway the point is that I wouldn't say that is all that uncommon, the area does get it's share a cold spells. What with the more recent milder winters some my seem to forget, or new comers have witnessed yet.

So far this winter - cloud cover 5 days a week, 2 days being partically cloudy, collectivly since november - back and forth over and under 32 - but mostly under - enough snow and flurries and cold enough to keep some snow on the ground since late november - And now a couple really nasty nites (glad I live in a house) sub 0 and more to come - BUT it is pretty clear out today, finally got some sun, to bad it's only up to 0 at 2 in the afternoon.

So how are the winters in Missoula MT - that's how they are, and having spent somewhere around 35 winters - I'd say while this one is shaping up to be a cold one in comparision to the last several recent one, it's not all that bad, shucks it's only 9 BELOW, I remember more that a few alot colder and me standing out there trying to put a block heater in the car.
So how are the winters, I gotta go out and plug my truck in if I want it to start later..........If that answers you question.

[delta07]

Originally Posted by JoeJoeMan

OK here you go...................

Lots of folks are always asking about "how is the winter there"

Well tonight according the weatherman (if you can beleive him ) it's going down to -9 - that's NINE BELOW, burrr....but we've seen worse before and probably will again. And looks like the cold spell is/will be around for a bit.

Anyway the point is that I wouldn't say that is all that uncommon, the area does get it's share a cold spells. What with the more recent milder winters some my seem to forget, or new comers have witnessed yet.

So far this winter - cloud cover 5 days a week, 2 days being partically cloudy, collectivly since november - back and forth over and under 32 - but mostly under - enough snow and flurries and cold enough to keep some snow on the ground since late november - And now a couple really nasty nites (glad I live in a house) sub 0 and more to come - BUT it is pretty clear out today, finally got some sun, to bad it's only up to 0 at 2 in the afternoon.

So how are the winters in Missoula MT - that's how they are, and having spent somewhere around 35 winters - I'd say while this one is shaping up to be a cold one in comparision to the last several recent one, it's not all that bad, shucks it's only 9 BELOW, I remember more that a few alot colder and me standing out there trying to put a block heater in the car.
So how are the winters, I gotta go out and plug my truck in if I want it to start later..........If that answers you question.

Sounds like Fairplay, CO where I used to live, except no wind!!! I remember the days of plugging in my truck too. I lived in a trailer then, so I know what you mean about glad to live in a house. The cold temperatures don't bother me (we have been 14 days in a row below freezing so far), it's the cloud cover. Being a Colorado girl I worry a lot about SAD. I just don't know if I could handle days on end without sunshine. Even though it has been cold here, the sun is out. Like you said, 2 degrees feels fine with the sunshine!!! I will be up in Missoula in 2 weeks. I sure hope the weather is "normal" so as to give me a feel for the area. I spend a couple days up there in February of
'05 (I think) and it was a real unusual winter. I went skiing at Snowbowl and ended up walking down the run because there was no snow. Unreal!!!

[JoeJoeMan]

Alot of times the cold spells here are accompanied by clear skies, from what I've heard it's that the cloud cover will hold in the earth's heat.

Needless to say not every year is that same, a few winters back I remember a warm and sunny febuary and march and I was out fishing early that year.
I also remember a year when spring lasted right thru July, rainy and chilly. It was August before we saw and temps in the 80s.
And I remember more than a few Christmas seasons down around 20 below, here in Missoula. And then last summer hit a record 107 and it was up over 90 everyday for a month, most days in the high 90s and over a hundred...that really sucked..................throw in some forest fire smoke and ............hopefully it'll be a nice summer this year.

[jimj]

How about 18-22 below last night here and 34 below in Polebridge. We only showed a high of 3 yesterday.

[NYMTman]

-28 here

High was -3

[NYMTman]

Also, we recorded a wind chill of -43 at 9pm MST here in town.

So yes, Montana does have harsh winters. Not as cold as North Dakota, but still cold. Quite a bit colder than the Colorado Front Range cities.

[rickers]

Here in Hot Springs it finally turned winter ! Three days ago I was still killing yellow jackets in my house that were "sleeping" in my wood-stack!
They come in on the firewood that I toss into my trailer window ! I keep my firewood stack right next (five feet away), to my side front window near my fireplace so I can just toss it in without walking in and out the door carrying armloads of wood up my front stairs ! I don't care what it looks like, I have to be pragmatic and save my freaking back ! I'm hoping that this cold snap will finally kill those bast*rds off ! It was in the teens and those suckas were still living !
Banana belt a myth ? I don't think so !!!!! How many people in Missoula, Kalispell, or Hamilton can say the same thing ? None ! Maybe in places like Heron or troy !!!
I'm getting my summer fishing gear in order cuz the summer is right around the corner and river floating season is almost here ! Hey jimj, have you ever tried Worden's rooster tails in 1/4/ to 3/8 oz in the black and white body ? They seem to work on anything any time in the Flathead system. I caught a 26 inch long ugly old brookie at the Quarter Circle Bridge a few years back on one of those type of spinners !

Oh by the way it's 9 degrees above right now outside, ---- Well let's see what the thermometer reads in the morning !

[JoeJoeMan]

rickers wrote:

I caught a 26 inch long ugly old brookie

Wow what do you figure that little baby weighted ? What river was that ? Did you keep it ?

[Radek]

Originally Posted by delta07

Sounds like Fairplay, CO where I used to live, except no wind!!! I remember the days of plugging in my truck too. I lived in a trailer then, so I know what you mean about glad to live in a house. The cold temperatures don't bother me (we have been 14 days in a row below freezing so far), it's the cloud cover. Being a Colorado girl I worry a lot about SAD. I just don't know if I could handle days on end without sunshine. Even though it has been cold here, the sun is out. Like you said, 2 degrees feels fine with the sunshine!!! I will be up in Missoula in 2 weeks. I sure hope the weather is "normal" so as to give me a feel for the area. I spend a couple days up there in February of
'05 (I think) and it was a real unusual winter. I went skiing at Snowbowl and ended up walking down the run because there was no snow. Unreal!!!

When it gets cold, as people have said... the sun comes out. Its that gloomy weather, and its the reason Seattle gets rain to ice, and not snow. Cloud cover comes in, heats everything up and it rains. Cloud cover leaves, and it dips below freezing.

Yeah, here in Bozeman, it was -22F on monday. Right now its supposedly 6F. All I can say is my car is finally starting right away. (need to look into the block heater)

If you're serious about the move, don't confine yourself to just Missoula. I'm not familiar with Butte's climate, but its right at the divide and may be prone to more sun. Bozeman gets 300+days of sun a year, and Im about 3hrs from Missoula. 4 in the winter.

[delta07]

Originally Posted by Radek

When it gets cold, as people have said... the sun comes out. Its that gloomy weather, and its the reason Seattle gets rain to ice, and not snow. Cloud cover comes in, heats everything up and it rains. Cloud cover leaves, and it dips below freezing.

Yeah, here in Bozeman, it was -22F on monday. Right now its supposedly 6F. All I can say is my car is finally starting right away. (need to look into the block heater)

If you're serious about the move, don't confine yourself to just Missoula. I'm not familiar with Butte's climate, but its right at the divide and may be prone to more sun. Bozeman gets 300+days of sun a year, and Im about 3hrs from Missoula. 4 in the winter.

Thanks Radek. We would consider Bozeman also, but Butte is not somewhere we would live. Part of the reason we are moving is to be closer to family. Right now we are 4 hours from family in Denver, so living 4 hours away still seems far for us. Not necessarily my Montana standards, but....

We really do love Missoula and have been there a handful of times over the years. Most of those visits have been in the summer though. Winter is one of my favorite seasons as I love to ski. However, I do really like the sun! Maybe I can handle weeks without it, but I am not sure. We will be visiting in two weeks so I hope this gives me a real taste of the winter there.