Montana Weather

This week, the weather in our home base of Montana has been a bit of a rollercoaster.  Our own Jordan Jarosky's recent experience with it motivated him to provide us with a heroic tale of bicycles, lightning bolts and hailstones... 

Montana weather is much like the hairstyles of Lady Gaga: consistently changing, sometimes offensive, sometimes beautiful, but always keeping us on our toes—especially in the early summer months.   To say the least, it is a tough job being a meteorologist in the state of Montana! 

Having rapidly changing weather is not necessarily a bad thing. 

Waking up to a wet, dim, and rainy summer morning in Montana should not put a damper on your day.  You can almost guarantee that by day’s end, the warm embracing rays of sun will shine down, highlighting the green beauty that Montana is known for in early summer.  However, this philosophy can also work the opposite way. 

On a personal note, one morning I awoke to one of the brightest and warmest days of the summer thus far.  Being the perfect conditions that I had been waiting for, I decided to ride my bicycle to work.  Making it to work safely, I felt energized.  I felt lifted by the beautiful weather.  This energy, this motivation, lasted the entire day, and it propelled me to eagerly anticipate the ride home once work was finished.  My every thought was infected with the picture of me peddling home under blue skies, with wind flowing through my hair while dancing upon two rotating wheels. 

The thought of this ideal dream ride continued all day, right up to the very moment it was instantaneously demolished by an unpredicted and unforeseen weather advisory.  Within minutes, the temperature dropped significantly and dark clouds rolled in, spewing a mix of rain, hail, and snow.  All the while, those devious clouds were burping extreme lightning bolts that touched the ground.  It was as if someone had turned the switch to “ON” and instantly opened the flood gates.  My bike parade was literally rained and snowed on.  I did not feel like eating a lightning bolt for dinner, so I asked a co-worker for a ride home.  With a little bribery, I was lucky enough to lock in a ride.  Unbeknownst to me, the storm that came without warning left just as quickly. 

Alas, I will ride again!  Needless to say, I was able to mount my two wheeled steed, and aside from being a little wet, my bike and I made it home safely without eating any lightning bolts.   

I am no meteorologist, and I do not know why the weather changes as it does in Montana, but it is no longer a surprise to me when it does.  It is also not surprising to know that Montana holds the world record for the greatest temperature change in a 24 hour time period.  On January 14^th-15^th,1972, the weather changed from  -54ºF to 40ºF—an astonishing 103 degree temperature change! 

Since Montana is a very large state, it boasts a great variety of geological features.  It is expected to see variances in weather across this vast landscape.  For example, in the western part of the state it is common to see an annual snowfall of up to 300 inches in the mountains, compared to a paltry 20 inches that is seen annually northeast of the divide.  

So just a little advice when visiting Montana in the summer: bring your shorts, bring your bathing suit and your flip flops, but also bring a winter jacket and pants—you never know what good old mother nature will throw at you in Big Sky Country!