snow

This morning, the valley sits under a blanket of fresh snow, and another few inches is forecast for tomorrow. I love the first day or two after a snowfall when everything is still white and clean, before the snow’s presence in town becomes more of a hindrance than a facelift.

A blast of arctic air is barreling down on the Northern Rockies. Some snow and blowing snow is in the forecast, but meteorologist Alex Lukinbeal says the system’s biggest threat comes in the form of bitter cold temperatures.

January didn’t start out great for Montana’s snowpack. The Bozeman-based Natural Resources Conservation Service says the first half of last month was dry across much of the state.

But NRCS Water Supply Specialist, Lucas Zukiewicz, says things picked up with late-January storms.

You know the old saying “no two snowflakes are alike”? Well, there may be more truth to that than you think. I am from Hillsboro, Oregon, where the snow falls in wet, indistinguishable clumps. When I moved to Montana, I immediately noticed a difference.