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.
-
Milltown dam water right will be used to support fish, state, CSKT say; Lawmakers expand teacher incentive program; Bill aims to regulate the use of sexually explicit AI-generated images. -
Montana legislators seek to protect a main source of eastern Montana’s water as wells start to run dry. A proposed bill would pause new permits for the Fox Hills-Hell Creek Aquifer to study its viability. -
Montana’s snowpack is mostly normal following soggy weather conditions last month, but more snow is needed in the mountains. -
Montana’s water operators are responsible for keeping drinking water clean and sewers running. But in rural towns, many are aging out of the workforce. Finding replacements for these operators caught between dedication and retirement hasn't been easy. -
More than half a million acres in southwest Montana have been impacted by conifer expansion. It used to be that fires would come through these landscapes and burn back the trees, but that natural cycle isn’t happening anymore. Now, more trees are encroaching into traditional sagebrush habitat, and that has impacts on our water supply. -
A recent report from the American Farm Bureau Federation showed that Montana lost millions of dollars worth of crops due to extreme weather; A federal judge in Montana this week extended a pause in an ongoing lawsuit over the state’s attempt to ban TikTok.
