10 Reasons No One In Their Right Mind Visits Montana In The Winter
Jessica Wick
Author
Dearest tourists, the people of Montana have a message for you: Winters here are terrible. We’ve grown accustomed to them, but we think you’d be better off saving your money and visiting in the summer, when you cal flock to our most popular tourist destinations while we relax by the secret lakes you’ll never know about (sorry).
Unconvinced? We’ll give you 10 good reasons to steer clear of the Treasure State in the winter.
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If you’ve read this far, you’ve probably realized that Montana is absolutely amazing in any season. If you’d still like to visit, we’ll give you a friendly welcome–but there are a few things we’d like you to know.
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winter in Montana
What's winter in Montana like?
All jokes aside, winter in Montana is a beautiful, beautiful time of year. There's snow, there's frosty temps, and there are even a few frozen waterfalls or two! Montana's winters are breathtaking, and we're lucky to get to experience all four seasons to the fullest here. While we often grumble about the cold, we really wouldn't have it any other way. The best defense against the cold and snow, of course, is to bundle up and brave it. And that's what we do, because we are a rough and rugged group that can do anything!
What are the worst winter storms to hit Montana?
Winter is a beautiful season in Montana (see above)… but we’ll be the first to admit it can get pretty treacherous. In fact, some of our storms have made national news and caused some major damage. Here are seven of the worst winter storms in Montana history, and they are definitely events for the history books. Take January 1916, for example, when a cold front caused the temperature to drop from 44°F to -56°F in 24 hours. This 100+ degree change stands as the most dramatic 24-hour drop in temperature ever recorded in the United States. In early 2017, five feet of snow was dumped on the Rocky Mountain Front in Montana, breaking long-standing snowfall records at a few spots. St. Mary saw a whopping 64 inches of snowfall between Feb. 3-7, and Great Falls saw 60 inches, breaking a local record from 1954. Wowza!
How much snow does Montana get in the winter?
A lot of the white stuff falls from the sky each year in Montana -- we are called Big Sky Country, after all. Annual snowfall in Montana can reach up to 300 inches (that’s 25 feet!) in the Rocky Mountains in the western half of the state; the east may get as little as 20 inches. Most of the larger cities have annual snowfall within the 30 to 50 inches.