8 feet of snow remains on ground in Montana headed for Nebraska

Nope

Do you usually have snow all year round in Montana?

plus this....

[link to radar.weather.gov]

NO, very crazy weather this year we have not reached 75 yet

Interesting.




Z

This is how ice ages begin.

weather channel has a video on how right now they are digging out the snow
Snow in June?
[link to www.weather.com]

Wow, Snow in June -- in my book that's awesome but for everything else, it's on my doom list. LOL

posted twice :| Sorry :(

Last Edited by AnalyticalMind on 06/18/2011 03:04 PM

it is also what happens when the earth goes through a physical pole reversal
;)

Meanwhile, over here in the southeast, we are much hotter than normal and have been for 2 months already. This is the longest, worst heat wave I can ever remember.

hang in there pal , summer is coming........next year

I'm with you on that...South Florida here, no rain, hotter than hell and no relief in sight.

For the record, this snow is in the mountains. Everything east of the Rockies is snowless, but rainy and experiencing widespread flooding. The snow in the mountains should be mostly gone by now except for the extreme altitudes, and most of the snow is gone by mid July even in higher altitudes that get direct sunlight. It is unusual that there is still so much snow up there, but unseasonably mild temps are a contributing factor. If most of the mountainous regions remain snow covered all summer, then there would be cause to worry.

But right now, the main concern is that the snow will begin to melt rapidly within the next few weeks, raising already flooded river levels and complicating the widespread flooding already occurring in eastern parts of the state. The Fort Peck damn is releasing far more water this summer than anytime in it's past, if I recall correctly, and this is causing flooding downstream as well.

North Dakota has been getting all of this water into Lake Sakakawea/Garrison Dam, since the Yellowstone and the Missouri meet at the confluence just southwest of Williston, ND, and then flow into the reservoir. Garrison has been very low for the past decade, but now it too is running at capacity and has begun releasing record amounts of water to combat flooding in the low lying areas of the Bismark/Mandan area of the state.

The Snake River along North Dakota's eastern border usually experiences flooding as well in the areas of Grand Forks and Fargo, and I believe this river connects with the Missouri down stream. All of this water flowing into the Missouri from the many tributaries will naturally have an impact on the lower Midwestern states all the way to the gulf.

With that said, there is a greater chance that the snow in the mountains will melt gradually and not have a significant impact on the already overflowing river systems, but we can't rule out the possible breaches of the Fort Peck reservoir and the domino effect that will create. All in all, I think it is safe to say we shouldn't expect any serious problems beyond the flooding that is occurring along the low lying parts of the river systems, but it is always best to be prepared and stay on top of the news concerning this issue.

So, is any of that water going to relieve the drought situation out West?

That all depends on what you mean by "out west". Most of the water in Montana flows into the Missouri, which flows to the east, and then south to the Gulf of Mexico. If you are speaking of the drought being experienced by the south west, that would be a matter for some of the more southern states, since the rivers here generally don't flow in that direction except for maybe a few over by Billings and Yellowstone Park. For the most part, the Water in the Rockies of Montana will either flow east into the Missouri, or west into the Columbia.

While it can't be said that there is a drought here in Montana, the widespread flooding has caused many farmers to not be able to get crops into the ground, which "may" create a food shortage come next year, at least for staple crops such as wheat, sugar beets, and corn. So too much water can have the same effect as not enough when it comes to growing food.

Hell will freeze over.

great...I'm headed to Montana next week from WV...

This coming week nice weather


[link to forecast.weather.gov]

have nice time