Missoula winters (Kalispell: appointed, buying, university)

[delta07]

I am looking for some honest information regarding the winters in Missoula. My husband and I are considering relocation to Missoula, but the winters scare us a bit. We are used to snow, ice, cold, etc. as we live in Colorado. We are more concerned about the "gloomy" days we have heard about. My sister lives in Missoula (and has for over ten years) and she swears they are not that bad (of course she really wants us to move there). She has mentioned the inversion, but says it lasts for a few weeks.

However, we have been tracking the weather and doing numerous searches regarding the climate. The city-data page compares the number of cloudy days to Seattle!! This is rather shocking to us. We tried living in western WA. That lasted a total of four months. We arrived in June to rain and cloudy days, had a beautiful summer, and then left in October after another month and a half of rain. We couldn't handle it. We are sunshine folks and this did not work for us. Are these comparisons correct? Any information regarding Missoula's weather would be appreciated.

[mark6052]

Im in and out of missoula alot. if winter sunshine is a big requirement for you, maybe southern idaho would be better and still close to visit your sister. my brother uses a sun lamp to help him cope with his needs.

[delta07]

Yikes!!! That doesn't sound to good. Thanks for the suggestion about southern Idaho, but I currently live in a climate similar to Boise's and I sick of the sizzling summers. We are also considering Bend, OR as well as staying in Colorado (just not our current location).

[JoeJoeMan]

There was another recent thread asking the question, not sure where that thread is now - basicaly, winter missouls 5 days cloud cover either high or low clouds, the other 2 day, partially cloudy, maybe a nice day. And so far that's about what this winter is shaping up to be. Spring is kinda the same - except warmer.
That isn't fix in stone, but pretty much what happens.
Do a googles search on 'missoula cams' and 'missoula weather' check in on them daily and see what the weather is doing.
If you want sun head east of the divide but expect colder weather.
We've had some snow on the ground in the missoula area since around thanksgiving, it kinda melts at times then, inch or so more, gets cold, warms up to 35, back down in the 20s, cloudy, snow flurries, then the sun will break out for half a day or so.......that's pretty much been the winter, haven't really had any sub-zero snaps or storms yet though - but winters not over yet. Maybe it will be a nice spring this year and summer this year.

[sav]

Agree w/ pp that southern ID might be a better bet for you, based on what I have gleaned from SCOURING weather maps, or even Utah. We lived in SLC for 4 years, and now Portland, OR area for the last 4, gulp, what a beautiful area but I am desperately sun-starved and we are moving to IF, ID next month.

I have no idea what the weather is like having never been to Missoula, but I can appreciate a sun-starved soul, and if 4 months in the PNW was too much I would make sure Missoula is sunny enough for you, probably an extended visit is the best way to go b/c one person's perception of sunny is another's totally overcast (as I have learned here, when the sun peeps out for 5 mins, literally, it is considered a sunny day in the winter!)

[mike_skoges]

HAHA this is hillarious... I have lived near Missoula my entire life 23 years now and I will tell you if you can live in Colorado you will be fine in Missoula... The winters are very light you would be surprised... If you were from California you might be in for a treat but seriously it is a beautiful place and there are many great places to live around Missoula as well. I agree with your daughter! You will not be dissappointed it doesn't rain nearly as much as washington and sure we get some rain and snow but no different than colorado. Especially because a REALLY cold day here is around 10 degrees... And a very hot day is 102 which is rare! Anyway Good luck on your move!

[be_a_light]

In my experience, Missoula does have a lot of grey weather in the winter compared to many places. I live about 3 1/2 hours north of Missoula now. Most of us in western Montana have a certain degree of grey weather in the winter, due to the Pacific air influence. But,it varies each year. You will find more sunny days east of the Divide in Montana, but you will also deal with more wind and often colder weather. Missoula winters are not hard winters. Minnesota and Wisconsin and the UP are hard winters....

[JoeJoeMan]

Mike_Skoeks wrote:

HAHA this is hillarious... I have lived near Missoula my entire life 23 years now and I will tell you if you can live in Colorado you will be fine in Missoula... The winters are very light you would be surprised... I

Hummm, you must live in a different missoula than me. But rather than debat it, I suggest that you just go to the Missoula weather link and cam and take a look for yourself, do it every other day......
This winter is typical, a bit colder than the last few, but certainly not as bad as some have been..............If you check regularly on those links I think you see, cloud cover 5 days a week and the other 2 partly cloudy, and that's just about what this winter has been, the cloud cover could be low (gloomy dizzly snow flurries) or high overcast (lighter but not sunny), partly cloudy means anything can happen from one minute to the next.

7-Day Forecast for Latitude 46.8N and Longitude -114.04W (Elev. 3615 ft)


Grizcam | University of Montana

[delta07]

Originally Posted by mike_skoges

HAHA this is hillarious... I have lived near Missoula my entire life 23 years now and I will tell you if you can live in Colorado you will be fine in Missoula... The winters are very light you would be surprised... If you were from California you might be in for a treat but seriously it is a beautiful place and there are many great places to live around Missoula as well. I agree with your daughter! You will not be dissappointed it doesn't rain nearly as much as washington and sure we get some rain and snow but no different than colorado. Especially because a REALLY cold day here is around 10 degrees... And a very hot day is 102 which is rare! Anyway Good luck on your move!

Colorado winters are actually not that bad either. Many people picture Colorado snowy 6 months of the year. That always cracks me up!

Currently I live on the warm western slope of Colorado. This winter is an exception because it has been relatively cold (average 25-30 degrees). However, we have lots and lots of sunshine. Even when it is freezing outside it will be sunny. This is why I am concerned about Missoula. I have been tracking the weather cams, but it's always nice to hear from people who actually live there (besides my sister). I am taking a trip up to Missoula in February so I can see for myself.

[rickers]

It's all about elevation and what side of your valley you're on. Here in my side of our valley (The Little Bitterroot), we're tucked into a rain shadow pocket. Missoula and Kalispell are not. There are a bunch of microclimates all over western Montana, (and everywhere else for that matter). Seattle gets roughly half the rainfall that Tacoma gets and they're only about 35 miles apart ! When it's socked in with clouds and snowing lightly in Missoula or Kalispell, it is often partly cloudy here with a flake or two drifting down every few minutes. That's what I call "snowing on a sunny day" ! If you want more sun in the winter, you can find it in these little pockets, That's one of the reasons I ended up buying where I did.