drought

Montana’s cool, wet spring and early summer is on the cusp of giving way to hotter and drier conditions. The summer wildfire season will soon ramp up, though potential for significant fires remains normal this month.

Montana’s cool, wet spring has improved the state’s drought conditions. The state is expected to release a snapshot of drought conditions Thursday.

The megadrought bedeviling the American West got even drier last year and is becoming the deepest dry spell in more than 1,200 years. Monday's study says the megadrought is now the worst-case scenario officials and scientists worried about in the 1900s. The drought deepened so much in 2021 that it is 5% worse than the old record in the late 1500s. They calculate that 42% of this drought is due to global warming from the burning of fossil fuels.

Officials with Montana’s Drought and Water Supply Advisory committee say the state’s drought conditions have persisted in the fall, but they’re cautiously optimistic about upcoming weather patterns.

As farmers are wrapping up wheat harvest, they are seeing lower yields as a result of drought conditions. But higher wheat prices may help some producers offset the losses.

More Montana livestock producers are now eligible for drought disaster assistance. The U.S. Drought Monitor was updated today and conditions in some parts of Montana are intensifying.

Recent rainfall and early conservation efforts have replenished water supplies in several Montana cities, leading officials to repeal restrictions on water use.

Wildfires have torched almost 800,000 acres in Montana so far this year. But burns in eastern Montana’s grass and farmland and western Montana’s mountainous, timbered landscape behave very differently. Freddy Monares spoke to MTPR reporter and editor on the podcast Fireline Nick Mott about the different types of fires in Montana.

Where there are stressed fish, there are stressed fishing guides. As Montana and much of the west feel the effects of persistent drought, those with a line in the future of the state’s fisheries are navigating high temperatures, low flow and closures across the state.

Montana is experiencing severe drought this year that’s fueling wildfires, killing crops and leaving rivers running low and warm. Freddy Monares talks with MTPR's Shaylee Ragar about the impacts of the extreme conditions, and what the state can do about it now and in the future.