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PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
243 PM MDT WED MAY 2 2018

...April 2018 and Oct-Apr Seasonal Weather Summary for North Central 
 and Southwest Montana... 

Correction for Bozeman MSU precipitation.

The average upper level flow for April consisisted of a ridge of 
high pressure over the Rockies, with west-northwest flow across 
Montana. This brought below normal temperatures to the state. Winds 
were on the lighter side and precipitation ranged from above normal 
west to below normal northeast. 

The month started out cold, with temperatures from 25 to 30 degrees 
below normal. Lows as cold as -15F were reported near Carter and 
north of Rudyard on the 3rd. This was after as much as 3-4-inches of 
snow blanketed the area. For much of the area, the below zero 
temperatures in early April were the coldest seen in April since 
2008. Another storm brought heavy snow to the area from the 6th-8th. 
Helena reported 8-inches. After a warming into the 40s, another 
round of snow brought 8-14-inches of snow from Fairfield to Grass 
Range on the 13th. As temperatures warmed into the 40s and 50s 
again, flooding was reported across northern portions on the 15th 
and 16th. Warmer temperatures also brought windy conditions. Gusts 
reached 65 mph at Norris Hill on the 16th and 75 mph at Deep Creek 
on the 21st. By the 22nd, the warmer temperatures melted snow 
causing flooding in southwest Montana. A storm system moved through 
southern Montana on the 23rd. Up to 17-inches of snow was reported 
in the mountains, with over one-inch of rain in lower elevations. 
The warmest area temperatures were seen on the 28th, with a new 
record high set at Helena, when they reached 85F. 

Across the area, temperatures averaged below normal. The warmest 
average temperature was 44.3F at Grass Range (Fergus), while the 
coolest was 27.9F at Yellow Mule RAWS (Gallatin). The range in 
departures from normal were from -0.9F at West Yellowstone to -7.1F 
at Havre. The area's highest temperature was 87F at Great Falls City 
on the 28th, while the area's lowest temperature was -15F near 
Carter and Rudyard on the 3rd.  

Spring was delayed across the region. Havre had their latest first 
reading of 60F of record. They first recorded a 60F reading on April 
20, one day later than the previous record set April 19 1975. 

Havre had their 8th coolest April of record and coolest since 1975. 
This was their coolest water-year-to-date since 1979. Great Falls 
saw their coolest April since 1997 and same for the water year. This 
was also the coolest water-year-to-date since 1997 at Cut Bank and 
Lewistown.
######
Precipitation amounts were mostly above normal. Areas of the hi-line 
did have below normal April precipitation. Bozeman tied 2003 for 
their wettest April of record. This is also their wettest water-year 
since 1995. Cut Bank has had their 3rd wettest water-year, behind 
last-year's second place. Other locations rank in their top 10 
wettest water-years. The wettest spot for April was at Brackett 
Creek SNOTEL, where 9.20-inches fell. Other wet locations include 
Crystal Lake SNOTEL (5.60-inches) and Bozeman MSU (4.37-inches). 
This value at MSU was their second wettest. April 2009 was the
wettest (4.48-inches). 

Snowfall was above average at most locations. The area's average was 
12.9-inches. For the water year, Bozeman MSU, Cut Bank and Havre 
rank first. MSU's old record of 141.3-in was set in 1997, Cut Bank's 
old record of 79.3-inches was set in 2009, and Havre's old record of 
76.9-inches was set in 1979. West Yellowstone had 14-inches on the 
ground at the end of the month, the most since 2014. The average is 
5-inches. The average last day for an inch or more of snow on the 
ground at West Yellowstone is May 3. 
######

Winds were generally weaker than normal. The strongest wind average
was at Deep Creek RAWS (Glacier), with an average of 15.7 mph. At
lower elevations, Browning recorded an average of 13.6 mph. The
highest area gust was on the 21st, when Deep Creek RAWS recorded a 
gust of 75 mph. 

The area wind average for April was 9.0-mph, the 3rd calmest of
record. This was 0.7-mph below normal. The water-year's winds have
averaged 9.4-mph, or near normal.


Average Temperature...Degrees Fahrenheit...
             APR   NORM   RANK          OCT-APR  NORM   RANK 
Bozeman......40.5..42.7...26th coolest   28.1....30.7...19th coolest 
Cut Bank.....35.4..41.0...10th coolest   25.7....30.6...14th coolest 
Dillon.......40.3..41.6...26th coolest   29.5....31.4...31st coolest 
Great Falls..38.4..43.1...10th coolest   29.4....33.3... 8th coolest 
Havre........37.3..44.4... 8th coolest   23.4....30.1... 9th coolest 
Helena.......42.5..44.9...53rd coolest   29.8....33.1...29th coolest 
Lewistown....37.9..41.4...27th coolest   28.4....31.8...15th coolest
W Yellowston.33.0..33.6...37th coolest   22.6....21.8...40th warmest
CWA..........38.2..41.6...21st coolest   27.1....30.4...26th coolest

Precipitation...Inches...
              APR   NORM                OCT-APR  NORM 
Bozeman.......3.19..1.60... 1st wettest  8.85....5.88... 2nd wettest
Bozeman MSU...4.37..2.30... 2nd wettest 14.05....9.13... 2nd wettest 
Cut Bank......1.80..0.78...14th wettest  6.18....2.69... 3rd wettest
Dillon........1.90..1.07... 9th wettest  4.57....3.45...10th wettest 
Great Falls...1.48..1.42...44th wettest  7.09....5.31...24th wettest 
Havre.........0.55..0.84...49th driest   6.90....3.40... 4th wettest 
Helena........1.61..0.98...18th wettest  7.55....3.80... 6th wettest
Lewistown.....1.75..1.41...34th wettest  6.47....5.91...58th wettest
W Yellowstone.1.86..1.62...34th wettest 15.31...12.94...25th wettest
CWA...........2.10..1.41...13th wettest  8.60....6.25... 4th wettest

Snowfall...Inches...
               APR  NORM                OCT-APR  NORM 
Bozeman Apt... 8.7.. 7.5...13th highest  68.3... 37.4... 5th highest
Bozeman MSU...24.9..13.9... 8th highest 143.5....84.9... 1st highest
Cut Bank......16.4..12.0... 3rd highest  82.5....34.8... 1st highest
Dillon........ 0.6.. 7.2...24th lowest   26.7....37.8...23rd lowest 
Great Falls...20.2..11.6... 8th highest 105.0....58.5... 3rd highest 
Havre......... 8.9.. 3.0...13th highest  93.0....36.4... 1st highest 
Helena........ 6.1.. 3.7...45th highest  64.7....35.6...25th highest
Lewistown.....21.3.. 4.6... 5th highest  75.0....46.1...18th highest
W Yellowstone. 4.6..12.4...28th lowest  132.2...155.9...39th lowest 
CWA...........12.9.. 7.4...12th highest  90.3....63.8... 5th highest

AVERAGE WIND SPEED...MPH...
              APR   NORM   RANK         OCT-APR  NORM   RANK
Bozeman.......6.3....7.0... 5th calmest   5.5.... 5.6...15th calmest 
Cut Bank.....11.7...13.5...17th calmest  13.8....13.5...37th windiest
Dillon....... 9.9...10.1...29th calmest   9.7.... 9.5...29th calmest 
Great Falls..10.4...12.1...10th calmest  12.7....13.3...25th calmest 
Havre........11.1... 9.9...20th windiest 11.1.... 9.3... 7th windiest
Helena....... 7.5....8.4...14th calmest   6.0.... 6.7... 9th calmest
Lewistown.... 8.8... 9.8...14th calmest  10.0.... 9.9...33rd calmest 
W Yellowstone 6.2                         6.1
CWA.......... 9.0... 9.7... 3rd calmest   9.4.... 9.3...13th calmest


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...and Lewistown began in 1896. West Yellowstone records began
in 1905...winds began 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 at www.ncei.noaa.gov

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