When does Winter set in? (Great Falls, Bozeman: house, high school, live)

[Goingtothedogs]

Hello everyone, I have been following this forum for the last few months and have found it very helpfull. We have property in Woods Bay and are trying to sell our house in Colorado so we can make the move to Woods Bay. Haven't had any luck selling the house and now are looking at a drastic price reduction, the problem I have is, if the house does sell in the next month or so, I really don't want to be moving in the Winter. Our first snow typically comes right before Halloween and our snowiest months are March & April. My question is when does Winter actually set in & which months are your snowiest? I just don't know if we should just leave it priced at what it is and then pull it off the market in October and relist next spring or take our chances that we lower the price and possibly sell and be faced with a Winter move. Any thoughts?

[electric_lady]

From my experience, no significant snowfall until late October-mid November (not to say it couldn't happen, it's been chilly here). March and April get huge dumps of snow. I think October and late January through February is the driest time.

[Redraven]

I would be a lot more worried about the highways between where you are in Colorado and Woods Bay! the snow can be plowed or shoveled out of the way for moving stuff out in Colorado, and into your Woods Bay place, but driving from Colorado to Northwest Montana just might be an incredible challenge!
Winter storms can arrive anytime now, and the snow may stay a while, or it could be gone in a couple days.
Remember, "the only people who try to forecast Montana weather are newcomers, weather men, and damfools."
Good luck.

[Montana Griz]

Originally Posted by Goingtothedogs

Hello everyone, I have been following this forum for the last few months and have found it very helpfull. We have property in Woods Bay and are trying to sell our house in Colorado so we can make the move to Woods Bay. Haven't had any luck selling the house and now are looking at a drastic price reduction, the problem I have is, if the house does sell in the next month or so, I really don't want to be moving in the Winter. Our first snow typically comes right before Halloween and our snowiest months are March & April. My question is when does Winter actually set in & which months are your snowiest? I just don't know if we should just leave it priced at what it is and then pull it off the market in October and relist next spring or take our chances that we lower the price and possibly sell and be faced with a Winter move. Any thoughts?

Originally Posted by Redraven

I would be a lot more worried about the highways between where you are in Colorado and Woods Bay! the snow can be plowed or shoveled out of the way for moving stuff out in Colorado, and into your Woods Bay place, but driving from Colorado to Northwest Montana just might be an incredible challenge!
Winter storms can arrive anytime now, and the snow may stay a while, or it could be gone in a couple days.
Remember, "the only people who try to forecast Montana weather are newcomers, weather men, and damfools."
Good luck.

........goingtothedogs.....

Your questions are obviously legit,,,...but impossible to answer specifically. I lived in the foothills (and mountains) west of metro Denver for over 16 years and have lived up here in western Montana (foothills and mountain areas) for over 30 years............... Redraven is correct.....forget about trying to GUESS and make assumptions about the weather patterns in these two areas.........

One thing to remember....we are now into a "LaNINA" cycle........this "Could" possibly make this coming winter (foR the area between Co & MT) more severe, wet, snow Etc Etc , than recent past winters. We moved from the Boulder foothills to the BR Valley many years ago.....with a horse, a dog, a cat and a child.............we waited until late spring to make the move and were very happy we made that choice.

And, Redraven's comment about driving conditions is something to deserve serious consideration.

IMHO........I'd wait until next spring (May/June). Good Luck

[NW Crow]

Here are some long-range climate forecasts of different length, though they are not firm or certain. Climate Prediction Center - Seasonal Outlook
(Click on the T's and P's for Temperature and Precipitation projections.) The Nov.-Feb. chart shows a substantial increase above normal precipitation during that period in the Pacific Northwest and a mild increase in western Montana. Most of Montana is also expected to colder than normal. The Feb.- April chart is pretty similar. Colorado is projected to have a normal winter.

[Rickers]

I don't have facts to back this up but IMHO weather and climate predictions are seldom accurate at all.
Montana's seasons generally fall right in line with the calendar but at the same time they are irregular and unpredictable specifically. It's an odd paradox and there are all the little micro-climates.
Moving in the winter is a bit more difficult and hazardous but I've done it many times.
Good luck with your move and keep an eye on the short term forecast while you are on the move because that is the only one that counts for what that's worth. I have seen them call for sun and we get rain too many times to have any faith in forecasts whatsoever.

[Threerun]

When I moved to Helena this past April (mid April) I drove through Broadus in the SE corner where it was sunny and warm, then through snow in Bozeman and finally raining like hell in Townsend all the way into Helena.

It was like 3 seasons in a day.

[ron1999]

In the late 80's I was stationed at Malmstrom AFB in Great Falls. During my first year there it snowed on June 1st, and then again around September 1st. Granted it wasn't a deep snow by any means. Just light flurries.

But, it seemed like the end of the world to a boy from Oklahoma.

After my Air Force days were over I moved back to Oklahoma, and that's where I currently reside. My goal is to move back to Montana in a few years after my daughter graduates high school.

This Okie actually misses those odd snow days.