Local kids were out building snowmen and sledding down the snowy hills earlier this week, after a healthy snowstorm blanketed the earth in a layer of white.
By Joe Stuver
Other than perhaps a wish for more moisture, November, 2018 was a pretty fine month.
The elections were over on November 5, ending months of negative campaign ads and rhetoric. The last Sunday of the month also marked the end of hunting season, and the many irritations it brings to landowners and others. It was actually a pretty good hunting season for most, with antelope, whitetail and elk numbers soaring, despite the terrible winter months and on into spring. Mule deer numbers are also on the rebound, but not to the extent of 11,000 doe tags made available in this district through the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
With the passing of November, there was lots of early December snow on December 1st and 2nd, with up to 7 inches measured at Boyes, 6.5 at Biddle, and other places in our high country. There was no information from Sonnette's NWS Station, an area that usually gets more snow than the lower elevations. In Broadus, 5.5 inches were recorded at the Broadus Sheriff's Station.
To make things interesting, Christmas Stroll evening of Friday also brought rain, followed by snow and freezing temperatures, which made driving treacherous. The first Hawk basketball games were also canceled.
Temperatures remained moderate, but night lows into the single digits are expected later this week, before another warming trend begins.
Some ranchers began early feeding, with their winter grazing pinned under the wet, heavy snow.
November moisture totals at Broadus was only four tenths of an inch, with light snow quickly melting off. The mean high was 45.8 degrees, but the night lows were only 23.4. There were three days where highs were into the 60s, 64 on the 14th and 15th, and 61 on the 21st.
Several nighttime temps were dang chilly though, with 0 on the 9th, 6 above on the 12th, and 5 above on the 17th.
Biddle's Mader Station showed a bit less moisture at .33 of an inch, with 1.6 inches of snow for November. Their mean high was 44, similar to Broadus, and their night mean was 23.2.
The high there was 64 and 61, respectively on the 14th and 21st. The low was a miserable minus 6 degrees on the 9th, and 3 degrees above on the 12th.
As in other areas of the county, the bulk of their moisture came during the 1st week of the November.
With the heavy, wet snow there the first couple days of December, came .72 inch of moisture.
The Mizpah station showed much more moisture for November at almost an inch, .98. There was also 1.9 inches of snow.
Their mean daytime high was 42.8, and their low mean was a chilly 20.3 degrees. There were two days of 60 degrees, and 25 was the daytime low on the 7th.
Mizpah had no below zero temps, but it came close, falling to 1 on the 9th and 2 on the night of the 12th. (cont. page 4)
This far in December, moisture totals reached .49, with about 5 inches of snow.
At Powderville, the Brown Station also recorded good moisture at .87 of an inch of moisture, with a couple inches of wet snow. Their mean daytime high came in at 43.5 degrees, and the average nighttime low was 22.3. The thermometer skied out twice at 60 or over, 62 on November 14 and 61 on the 21st.
Their coldest days were 2 degrees on the 9th and 12th, for the only single digit temps of the month.
Thus far in December, add .58 in moisture with about 6 inches of heavy, wet snow. Highs remained moderate at 35/32 on the 1st, and 32/25 on December 2.
Up Powder River at Bowers' Moorhead Station, .54 inch of moisture fell in November, with about two inches of snow. Their mean high was 43.7, and their low was again a chilly 20.8.
They only had one day of 60 degrees, and the daytime low was 31 degrees on the 4th.
Their lows were dang chilly, with minus five on the night of the 9th, followed by 2 degrees on the 12th.
They measured a lot less snow in the first day of December, 1.5 inch containing .20 inch of moisture. There was no reading for the 2nd.
Sonnette hogged the most moisture for November, 1.34 inch, with over five inches of snow, falling during the second week.
Their daytime mean high was 44 degrees, but they also had the coldest night mean of 18.3 degrees. They had a high of 63 on the 14th, but there were two nights of below zero, minus 8 on the 9th and -6 on the 11th. They had two other nights of single digit temps.
As winter approaches, most stockgrowers have shipped, to lower prices for both yearling cattle and lambs. Most have or are also moving their stock back home to their feeding grounds.
Last December, the temperatures remained moderate until the bottom fell out three days before Christmas. Christmas Day saw temps of 13 over minus one, with night temperatures remaining dang cold through New Years. On December 30, the high was 0 and the low, minus 7. New Years Eve Day, the high was minus five degrees, and the low was minus 13.
And folks remember too well, January, February and March and the first few weeks of April temperatures, and 60 to 70 inches of snow, was a calf and lamb killer; as brutal as any in memory. That followed a miserly spring and summer moisture-wise, and the year bit deep into everyone's pockets.
One upside to the year was moisture - the total as of December 3rd in Broadus was 18.63", which puts us at 5.16" ahead of the yearly average up to this date.
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