Missoula winters (Kalispell, Reserve: home, landscaping, neighborhood)

[Heart]

I'm going to answer this honestly. I lived through midwest winters for years. Although some years are hellish with ice and snow, the sun comes out more often. You at least get a break from winter -like weather when temps come up and melt away the snow.

This is my first winter here. I live south of Missoula outside of the city. The snow in *this* particular area is tolerable. It hasn't been difficult to navigate. My only complaint is the lack of sun, and when it has popped out, it's too cold for me to get out.

When I moved up here in May it snowed a bit. So I'm figuring we could get snow clear until May. My family has seen it snow past that.

The winter seems to drag on, that is for sure. I do think the lack of sunshine has been contributing to my depression. Sometimes, there is a great sense of isolation when you don't know anyone. And that too can be depressing.

Otherwise, last summer was HOT lol And once the weather starts to get nice, here come the forest fires and the smoke rolls in all around you. You cannot get away from it. There were days I could not go out with my child because ash was falling from the sky.

It is beautiful here, and I do not mean to turn you off on Montana, but I think it's good to know what you could be in store for



Good luck, on whatever you choose.

[Radek]

Originally Posted by delta07

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.

Bozeman has 2 phenomenol ski-resorts *wink*

Sorry, I've only been here like a year and a half, and I've fallen completely in love with the university and location and the people. And being school rivals with Missoula, well... you get the picture. There are also several small towns an hour or two outside Missoula which may have similar climates to Missoula, but maybe not. And I agree with you personally with Butte, just thought I'd toss it out there.

[delta07]

Thanks Heart for your honest opinion. I have always loved the idea of Montana, but it is sounding more and more like I may want to just visit more often. My sister claims south of Missoula is better in terms of sun, but not sure that is really the case.

Radek, glad to hear you love where you live! I haven't spent any time in Bozeman, but it sounds like a place to check out. I know my sister really likes to go to Bozeman. I know Big Sky is close to you. What other ski area are you near?

[Radek]

Originally Posted by delta07

Thanks Heart for your honest opinion. I have always loved the idea of Montana, but it is sounding more and more like I may want to just visit more often. My sister claims south of Missoula is better in terms of sun, but not sure that is really the case.

Radek, glad to hear you love where you live! I haven't spent any time in Bozeman, but it sounds like a place to check out. I know my sister really likes to go to Bozeman. I know Big Sky is close to you. What other ski area are you near?

Bridger Bowl/Moonlight Basin are two resorts on opposite sides of the same mountain. Both are within 30minutes from town. Apparently last friday it was 2 feet of brand new powder.

Bozeman is the kind of place that comes dangerously close to shutting down on powder days.

The housing IN Bozeman is pretty bad, but Belgrade and Livingston I've heard are pretty reasonable outside of town.

[Radek]

Originally Posted by Heart

I'm going to answer this honestly. I lived through midwest winters for years. Although some years are hellish with ice and snow, the sun comes out more often. You at least get a break from winter -like weather when temps come up and melt away the snow.

This is my first winter here. I live south of Missoula outside of the city. The snow in *this* particular area is tolerable. It hasn't been difficult to navigate. My only complaint is the lack of sun, and when it has popped out, it's too cold for me to get out.

When I moved up here in May it snowed a bit. So I'm figuring we could get snow clear until May. My family has seen it snow past that.

The winter seems to drag on, that is for sure. I do think the lack of sunshine has been contributing to my depression. Sometimes, there is a great sense of isolation when you don't know anyone. And that too can be depressing.

Otherwise, last summer was HOT lol And once the weather starts to get nice, here come the forest fires and the smoke rolls in all around you. You cannot get away from it. There were days I could not go out with my child because ash was falling from the sky.

It is beautiful here, and I do not mean to turn you off on Montana, but I think it's good to know what you could be in store for



Good luck, on whatever you choose.

Piece of information, in Bozeman... it has snowed every day of the year before. So, just like Missoula, it doesn't matter what month it is, it can snow. Which I find quite endearing. Then again, I love that fluffy stuff

[Heart]

Originally Posted by delta07

Thanks Heart for your honest opinion. I have always loved the idea of Montana, but it is sounding more and more like I may want to just visit more often. My sister claims south of Missoula is better in terms of sun, but not sure that is really the case

To give you an honest idea, today, the sun popped out for about an hour right before sunset. We get alot of the weather systems as they travel through Missoula and over the mountains on my side. Sometimes, we don't.

Last summer was quite uncomfortable with the heat wave that lasted for weeks.

I really found the weather systems up near Coeur D' Alene, or further north of this near Sandpoint even more tolerable. The summer seems to be a bit cooler, with maybe a few days of hot weather. I'm looking into moving up there.....eventually

[delta07]

Missoula is sounding more and more like the winter we are having in Western Colorado this year. After about 15 days of temperatures below freezing, we finally got some warmer weather (upper 30's to low 40's). All the snow started melting and creating a mess. Well then today another storm moved in and it was too warm to snow. We got rain on top of the snow! The temp. must have been just a few degrees above freezing because I nearly killed myself on my driveway this morning! My backyard is a swamp right now and I have two yellow labs who are lovin' it (I'm not)!

[JoeJoeMan]

Cold blast last week, minus 10 on night and colder in other areas....now another artic blast is on the way, I hear some areas minus 25, that's without the wind chill.

After the last so many mild winters, I consider this a much more normal although I wouldn't call it a cold winter like some we can get. I say this because I don't think folks that have moved here in the last 10 years or so don't know how nasty things can be even in more 'normal' montana winters.

In the past I would always inticipate minus 20-30 cold snaps and have my vehicles ready for winter, etc. Because I considered that normal....but I've gotten so in the last few years that I wouldn't even run the electric extenstion cord out back to be ready for plugging my truck in, I did run it out this year though ( I guess I just thought we were due for a cold one this year), and plugged it in that cold night or two last week, my truck seems to do good until it starts push 10 below.

So if any of your tenderfoots get to thinking "gosh it got a bit colder and snowier this year" - count your past blessings. You never know when all hell is gonna break loose around here, it's just a matter of time.

[delta07]

Okay, so the time is finally here!! I am leaving on Wed. for my trip to Missoula. What is the weather is supposed to be for Wed. through Sun.? We will be packing our ski gear, but want to know what to expect. Thanks.

[Marcene Stocks]

I moved to Missoula (totally sight unseen!) from Texas, having never been in MT except once in the summer (outside Yellowstone). I've fallen in love with everything about it, except last year's smoke. As long as I get outside, the inversion and cloudiness don't bother me. I've learned to snowshoe and cross-country ski, so just being in nature satisfies the "sun" requirement for me. My husband complains about the dreariness. The university adds so much to the quality of life. It has special six-week classes for folks 55+ and you don't even have to take notes! The community and the U of M really embrace each other. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND TAKING A LOOK AT MISSOULA!