July - Another Month of Hot and Dry

The US drought monitor places a large portion of Powder River County in the D2 or Severe Drought category, the area roughly corresponding to the land which falls between the Powder River and Little Powder drainages. This is the only portion of Montana currently in severe drought. Nearly the entire remaining portion of the county falls under the D1 or Moderate Drought category. The conditions are exacerbated by large numbers of grasshoppers in portions of the area, which have been eating up crops, pasture, lawns and gardens, and we even received a report of horse tack being damaged by the exoskeleton armored hordes.

Areas of Wyoming including a large portion of the Bighorn Mountains are in D3 or Extreme Drought, with the low mountain precipitation contributing to low river flows. The Powder River sat at around half the usual flow rate during July and even lower into early August, when this article was written.

The month of July was hotter than normal and dryer than normal in Broadus, with an average high for the month of 92.9, or 4.1 degrees above normal, and a precipitation total of .72” for the month, or .9” below normal.

The mercury topped out at 103 degrees on three separate days in July – the 12th, 22nd, and 23rd, also hitting 101 on July 13th.

The low for the month of 46 fell on July 15th.

Yearly precipitation from Jan. 1st to July 31st was 4.70”, less than half the normal precipitation total during that timeframe, which is 9.60”. The lowest accumulation from Jan. 1st to July 31st was in 1988, with 3.91”. The highest amount during that timeframe was 2019, with 16.11”.

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July data from other weather stations around the area include the Biddle 8 miles SW station, which topped out at 103 on July 12th, and had a 44 degree reading on July 1st. This station received .92” of precip in July, compared to a normal total of 1.86”.

The Moorhead 9 miles NE station topped out at 102 on July 22nd, and dropped down to 43 on July 15th. This station received 1.39” of precip in July, compared to a normal of 1.54”.

The Sonnette 7 miles SW station was the coolest station in July, with the highest recording of the month on July 22nd at 99 degrees, while the low for the month on July 15th hit a chilly 38.

The Sonnette station also hit the jackpot for rain, with 2.27” falling in July compared to a normal 1.62”. The highest amount fell on July 4th, with .78”.

The Volborg station, which only records precip, had .85” in July.

The Powderville 8 miles NNE station topped out at 103 on July 22nd, and dropped as low as 45 on July 15th. This station was the winner in terms of precip on the month, with 2.38” compared to a normal 1.64”.

Broadus normally sees around an inch of precipitation in August, to which we are already falling behind, with daily high temps around 3 degrees above average through August 10th.