National Weather Service Raw Text Product

488 
NOUS45 KTFX 101833
PNSTFX
MTZ008>015-044>055-171800-

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
1133 AM MST MON DEC 10 2018

...November 2018 and Autumn Seasonal Weather Summary for North
Central and Southwest Montana...

After a mild period early in the month of November, temperatures 
averaged below normal and periods of snow fell through the 18th. 
Afterwards, a mild and drier period, with increased winds prevailed 
through the rest of the month.

#### Temperature ### 
Overall...temperatures averages were a mix of below and above normal 
across the region. Temperature departures from average ranged from 
3.7F below normal at West Yellowstone to 1.8F above normal at Havre.
The highest area temperature was 65F at Choteau and Stanford on the
21st. The lowest monthly temperature was -20 at Elk Park on the 12th.
Temperature averages ranged from 35.6F at Holter Dam to 18.5F at 
West Yellowstone. As a composite, the area average temperature was 
near normal. 

For the fall season /September through November/, this was the 
coolest such period since 2000 at Great Falls, Lewistown and West 
Yellowstone. It was the coolest average for the area since 2000. At 
Cut Bank, Dillon and Bozeman MSU, it was the coolest since 2002.

#### Precipitation ###
Precipitation amounts were above normal except in the Helena area 
and portions of southwest Montana. Lewistown had their wettest 
November since 2010 while West Yellowstone had their driest since 
2012. The wettest spot was Sacajawea SNOTEL with 8.10-inches, while 
a point near Bozeman reported 2.10". 

Snowfall was near to below normal across the region. The highest 
amount for the month was 29.7-inches at Hebgen Dam. They had 14 
inches on the ground on the 30th.

For the fall season, this was the driest since 2003 at West 
Yellowstone and driest since 2012 at Bozeman and Dillon.

### Wind
Winds averaged below normal in November. At airport locations, Cut 
Bank had the strongest monthly average at 14.6 mph. The highest 
average at higher elevations was 22.8 mph at Deep Creek RAWS, in 
Glacier County. At Browning, the average was 18.2 mph.
The highest November gust was 87 mph at Deep Creek RAWS on the 2nd.
Two Medicine had a gust of 67 mph on the 14th.

For the fall period, this was the calmest since 2010 at Great Falls 
and since 2013 at several other points.

AVERAGE TEMPERATURE...
              Nov   NORM                Sep-Nov  NORM  
Bozeman.......30.6..29.7..               42.8....42.8..
Bozeman MSU...31.1..32.7..               43.6....45.2..
Cut Bank......31.0..30.3..               40.7....42.3..            
Dillon........30.9..30.5..               42.0....43.0..15th coolest
Great Falls...33.6..33.4..               43.9....44.9..17th coolest
Havre.........23.0..30.2..               43.3....43.7..            
Helena........33.2..32.5..               45.1....45.3..            
Lewistown.....30.3..32.0..               41.9....43.5..21st coolest 
W Yellowstone.18.5..20.9..20th coolest   33.8....34.8..13th coolest
NC/SW MT Comp.30.0..29.9..56th coolest   41.7....42.5..27th coolest

PRECIPITATION...
              Nov   NORM                Sep-Nov  NORM 
Bozeman.......1.00..0.75..21st wettest   2.57....2.93..            
Bozeman MSU...1.69..1.19..26th wettest   4.55....4.31..
Cut Bank......0.65..0.36..18th wettest   2.14....2.02..            
Dillon........0.29..0.39..               1.17....1.92..14th driest
Great Falls...0.65..0.59..               2.79....2.87..             
Havre.........0.49..0.43..               2.57....2.13..            
Helena........0.22..0.49..               1.51....2.27..29th driest
Lewistown.....1.36..0.71..13th wettest   3.64....3.19..            
W Yellowstone.1.43..2.07..               2.65....4.67..18th driest 
NC/SW MT Comp.1.28..0.84..17th wettest   4.22....3.93..19th wettest

SNOWFALL...Inches...
              Nov   NORM                Sep-Nov  NORM
Bozeman....... 4.2.. 5.2..                6.2.... 7.6..
Bozeman MSU...13.6..11.3..               26.1....18.0..20th highest 
Cut Bank......14.6.. 5.0.. 5th highest   18.4.... 7.8.. 9th highest
Dillon........ 3.3.. 4.9..                3.3....10.1..            
Great Falls...10.1.. 8.1..               12.4....13.4..            
Havre......... 1.3.. 5.3..                2.6.... 7.6..             
Helena........ 1.9.. 4.7..                2.3.... 8.5..             
Lewistown.....11.5.. 4.9..22nd highest   14.0.... 8.2..            
W Yellowstone.17.1..25.0..               19.1....31.4..           
NC/SW MT Comp. 9.2.. 9.2..               12.3....13.6..            

AVERAGE WIND SPEED...
              Nov   NORM                Sep-Nov  NORM 
Bozeman.......4.2....5.2.. 8th calmest    4.7.....5.3.. 3rd calmest
Cut Bank.....14.6...14.1..               11.9....12.7..16th calmest
Dillon....... 9.4....9.2..                8.4.....8.7..             
Great Falls..13.4...14.2..               10.5....12.4.. 2nd calmest 
Havre........10.6... 9.3..                9.8.....8.9..             
Helena........5.2....6.4..14th calmest    5.6.....6.2.. 7th calmest 
Lewistown.... 8.9...10.1..14th calmest    8.2.....9.2..12th calmest 
W Yellowston. 4.8... 5.6                  5.1.....5.8 
NC/SW MT Cmp. 8.9....9.4..19th calmest    8.0.....8.7.. 5th calmest 

Temperature and precipitation records for Bozeman began in 1935...Cut 
Bank began in 1903...Dillon began in 1939...Great Falls began in 1891
...Havre and Helena began in 1880...Lewistown began in 1896...and
West Yellowstone began in 1905. Wind records began at Bozeman and 
Dillon in 1948...Cut Bank and Lewistown in 1938...Great Falls in
1939...Havre in 1889...Helena in 1880...and West Yellowstone in 
2010. The normal period for all elements is 1981 to 2010.

These data are preliminary and have not undergone final QC by NCEI.
Therefore these data are subject to revision. Final and certified
climate data can be accessed at the National Centers for 
Environmental Information at www.ncei.noaa.gov

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