Montana will need an extremely wet spring to avoid widespread drought once summer arrives. Scientists are skeptical that the needed moisture will arrive.
Almost 95% percent of Montana is abnormally dry this winter, according to data published Thursday by the National Drought Information System.
Nowhere is the problem more acute than the Upper Clark Fork Basin east of Missoula, where snowpack and precipitation are near their lowest levels since records began in 1979.
And the situation is unlikely to improve before summer, according to forecasts from scientists with the Montana Climate Office. The office recently shared projections suggesting many parts of the state won’t recover adequate moisture.
The scientists warn that could lead to water shortages affecting agriculture, fisheries, and recreation around the state.
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A judge dismisses a challenge to the 2024 initiative that enshrined abortion access in Montana’s Constitution; The BLM revokes bison grazing permits for American Prairie reserve; USDA grants an extension for rural water system program. -
More than six square miles of an aquifer under Montana’s Rocky Mountain Front has been removed from federal protections and slated for wastewater. The change comes despite overwhelming opposition from the local community. -
Montanans are being told to eat less fish in some areas of the state. A new report from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality says high levels of PFAS are present in fish in the Fort Peck Reservoir, the East Gallatin River, the Missouri and the Clark Fork, among other locations. -
Snowpack in the West typically reaches its peak in early April but that hasn’t happened this year. Drought persists, setting up conditions for wildfires and low water supply. This warm, snowless winter points to a warming climate and trouble for Montana farmers. -
This past winter was defined by historic warmth in the Rockies. Long-term spring forecasts look similar – warmer and drier than normal. -
Water watchdog groups and tribes are suing federal environmental regulators. The suit challenges the federal approval of Montana’s new water quality standards.
