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Montana weather is, to say the least, diverse. The combination
of its northern latitude, its location in the Great Plains,
the dramatic elevation changes and the numerous tall mountain
ranges in the state all combine to produce some really wild,
wacky and generally unpredictable weather.
For
anyone who is venturing to Montana on a fly fishing or
pleasure trip, knowing what kind of weather to expect
is very important. This is all the more so if you plan on
doing outdoor activities. Thus, I’ve prepared a Montana
weather guide to give our visitors an idea of what to expect,
weather wise, when venturing to Montana. It will go over
the basics of the weather here in Montana – which will
hopefully allow you to figure out what to take on your trip
here.
General Montana Weather
For
starters, let’s just go into a quick summary of
the weather in Montana. These are just general rules, and
change at the whims of nature, of course. But, overall, eastern
Montana (which is defined as that portion east of the Continental
Divide) is drier than western Montana (which is defined as
that part of Montana that is west of the Continental Divide).
During
the summer, temperature wise, eastern Montana generally
has warmer weather
than the western half – frequently much warmer.
During the winter months, though, western Montana usually
has warmer temperatures than does the eastern half of the
state – often times with remarkably substantial differences.
An additional
Montana weather trait relates to clouds. The area of Montana
that is west of the Continental Divide has
significantly more cloud cover than eastern Montana. This
is especially true during the winter months, when inversions
set in – often times keeping the western valleys of
Montana under clouds for weeks at a time while over in eastern
Montana the sun shines continuously.
The reason for these general traits in Montana weather is
due to the Continental Divide. The Continental Divide essentially
divides up Montana into two distinct big geographical zones
that vastly influence the weather in Montana. The Continental
Divide, for those not familiar with it, are towering mountain
peaks that meander through the entire width of Montana. More
than anything else, the Continental Divide shapes the weather
in Montana, causing the often times dramatic differences
in temperature and precipitation.
The
Continental Divide has a dramatic effect on weather in
Montana for two reasons. The first reason is that the
divide hinders the flow of the often very cold air that invades
eastern Montana from making its way over into the western
part of the state. This occurs because that very cold air
(you know, the stuff that is like -20 degrees) is usually
just a “shallow pool” of air, often times not
more than 2000 feet in height. Consequently, this cold air
is frequently unable to make it over the mountains to invade
the western half of the state. Because of this, during the
winter months or during cold snaps that happen to occur during
the rest of the year, it is not uncommon at all to have Great
Falls shivering in 20 below weather (and windy) while Kalispell
basks in 25 degrees above zero weather.
Yet,
the Continental Divide doesn’t always prevent
the cold air from invading western Montana. From time to
time, these pools of cold air are “deep enough” (or
are thick enough) to penetrate through the mountain passes
along the Continental Divide. When this happens, conditions
along the Continental Divide and near these passes, become
less than pleasant as this very cold air blows through, resulting
in cold, very windy conditions.
The
second dramatic effect of the Continental Divide relates
to moisture and sunshine in Montana. The Continental Divide
is a wonderful rain and snow gathering machine. The high
peaks of the divide force moisture out of the weather systems
that cross Montana, leaving very little for eastern and central
Montana (or those areas that lie to the east of the Continental
Divide). As such, most areas in western Montana receive decent
amounts of moisture, while areas to the east have significantly
less – particularly the vast swath of prairie in Montana.
That said, it needs to be noted that the many mountain ranges
that lie to the east of the Continental Divide are high enough
to force significant amounts of moisture out of weather systems.
This is why many central and southern Montana mountain ranges
receive so much snow – their huge vertical rise (measured
from base to summit, which can exceed 7000 feet in places)
has a way of forcing moisture out of weather systems.
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Page : Montana Weather by Season
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