Snow Hits Montana

Missoula, Montana, June 12 -- As much of the United States takes shelter from summer weather, Montanans are wondering when spring, much less summer, will begin to show its face in the northwestern state. The Midwest states are flooded with the downpour of ongoing thunderstorms while the East coast deals with a heat wave and ravaging fires. California is also seeing the effects of early summer fires.

Not so in Montana. The week has delivered damp, bone-chilling weather while much of the rest of the nation turns to overworked air conditioners for relief. Cold rains and wind marked the final days of last week and early part of this week, and Tuesday and Wednesday brought snow. Some areas, like Missoula in the western part of the state, saw little actual accumulation aside from on the mountains.

Other locations, such as the more northern Flathead region, accrued around 8 inches of snow. Roads have been slick as winter equipment has already been stowed away for the season, and plow crews are not required emerge to clear the highways until 7 o'clock in the morning.

Thankfully, the forecast predicts that this unseasonably cold and gray weather is not set to stay in Montana. Weekend temperatures are expected to rise into the 70's, meaning that Montana's legions of hikers can finally don their boots and hit the trails. However, the state has seen so little warm spring weather that residents are unclear as to how long this temperate spell will last.

A positive benefit of the chilling rains and snow that drenched Montana recently is that summertime fires will hopefully remain minimal this coming season. The gorgeous blue of the "big sky" that Montana is known for is all too often hidden by smoke and smog from fires for most of July and August, and the scent of the fires is a familiar one to residents that have lived in-state for even just one summer.

If the recent drizzly, wet weather persists, however, fires may be one element of the summer season change that Montanans can forget about this year. For now, though, most Big Sky Country residents eagerly await the arrival of this weekend's expected temperature climb. The National Weather Service forecasts a jump to a high of 74 degrees F on Friday, June 13, with the high temperature for the following week expected to reach 79 degrees F on Monday and Tuesday before dropping into the lower 70s by Thursday.