Early season weather patterns hit or miss across Montana

After an early-season storm dropped snow in Montana’s high country at the end of September, it seemed like the new 2020 water year was off to a strong start. The wet and cold weather patterns that dominated October boosted snowpack and precipitation totals in many basins east of the Divide by early November, with some mountain SNOTEL (SNOwpack TELemetry) sites reporting the first or second most snow water equivalent contained within the snowpack for that date.

“While we got off to a great start early in the year, the major change in weather patterns during November weren’t kind to the western...