Heavy snows cause delays, frustration; but offer portend good start to 2018 water year

The arctic storm that swung through central Montana on Thursday was not a record breaker, but it did add to what's shaping up to be a significant snow year for the middle part of Montana.

According to National Weather Service data, the Great Falls Airport received 5.8 inches of snow through midnight Thursday, pushing the February total to 13.6 inches — nearly a foot ahead of what would typically be expected through the eighth day in February — 2.2 inches.

At the top of the list of communities that have experienced too much of a good thing are Ethridge (8.8 inches); Bynum (17.0 inches) and Choteau (9.0 inches).

Havre is coping with snowfall totals meeting or exceeding anything in recent memory.

Going into Thursday's storm, Havre had already received close to 5 feet of snow — far exceeding the 23-inches the Hi-line city typically receives by this time of the year.

13.3 inches fell at the Havre Airport between 9 am Thursday and daybreak Friday morning, enough to push seasonal totals at this point in February beyond anything in recent memory 

On Thursday, the Havre Police Department issued a travel advisory recommending little to no travel at all.

"Please stay indoors unless it is an emergency to travel," the police advisory stated.

That warning was lifted Friday morning after public works crews raced to clear the main roadways of more than a foot of snow.

"My crews came out at 5 in the morning and cleared the snow routes," said Havre's deputy director of Public Works, Jeff Jensen. "We're still in the process of trying to clear those, clear the intersections and get things passable. There's a lot of snow out there, but all in all its pretty good."

That could be the refrain of many ag producers, hoping for a confirmed end to the dry conditions that plagued Montana producers during the second half of 2017. 

While snow-packs across Montana currently reflect some of the best water accumulation totals across the west, the real test will come in May and June when seasonal precipitation accumulations are most critical for crop production.

The impacts of last year’s drought still remain across much of eastern and northcentral Montana," said John Grassy, communications officer for the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation.

"The latest (Feb. 8) assessment from the U.S. Drought Monitor places eight Montana counties in severe drought status, with 12 others rated as abnormally dry or in moderate drought," Grassy said. "The good news is that conditions across this area have continued to improve since the onset of winter.

"With one or two exceptions, snow pack in every major river basin is above 100 percent of average, but it’s too early to know whether it’ll melt out early and quickly, or at more measured pace."