NEWS

73 in February! Records fall in northcentral Montana

Karl Puckett
kpuckett@greatfallstribune.com
Sammy Loftis, 4, hand feeds geese at Gibson Park while his mom, Alyssa Garrett, watches Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2016.

The high temperature Tuesday in the Rocky Mountain Front community of Choteau was 73, the highest temperature ever recorded Feb. 9 in Montana, according to the National Weather Service in Great Falls.

It was just one of five records that a February heat wave melted in northcentral Montana, as spring-like weather enveloped the region continuing high-than-usual temperatures dating to October 2015.

Winds blow away records in Great Falls, Helena, Havre

El Nino, a warming of the ocean surface in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, which is affecting United States temperature and precipitation patterns, is the causing temperatures 10 to 15 degrees above normal, said Brian Waranauskas, lead forecaster for the Weather Service in Great Falls.

“Typically in an El Nino year, Montana will start seeing above-normal temperatures, and so far that’s exactly what we’re getting,” Waranauskas said.

Choteau’s high temperature of 73 broke the previous Feb. 9 high temperature of 71, set in Hardin in 1996. The highest February temperature on record, 79, came in 1932 in Columbus.

The normal high temperature for the second week of February is 37.

Ronda Reiding captured this photo of her thermometer in Choteau on Tuesday. "Welcome to sunny Montana," she wrote.

On Tuesday, Great Falls hit 63 degrees, breaking the old record of 62 set in 1970. The high in Great Falls on Wednesday was 58, six degrees shy of the record.

“Almost spring-like conditions for early February,” Waranauskas said.

High temperature records also were tied or fell Tuesday in Havre (58), Turner (56) and Cut Bank (65).

Record highs were possible again Wednesday in Choteau, Conrad, Cut Bank and Fort Benton, but less likely due to cloud cover, Waranauskas said.

Warm spell a good time to clean up that garden

Temperatures have been running above normal dating back to October, when the influence of El Nino first began showing up, he said.

Much of Montana has seen above-normal temperature since then, he said.

Eboni Agosto enjoys the unusual 55 degree weather by playing with her lab mix Kiddo in the dog park along River's Edge Trail Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2016.

Over the past 30 days, from Jan. 10 to Feb. 8, much of central Montana was four to eight degrees above normal, although southwestern Montana was about normal.

Precipitation is also below average.

As of Jan. 28, the snow-water equivalent in the snowpack was 65 percent of normal for the Sun-Teton-Marias rivers basin along and east of the Rocky Mountain Front.

Temperatures are expected to be in the low to mid-50s next week. Windy conditions likely will return Monday and Tuesday, Waranauskas said.

Although it’s been warmer than usual, heavy snow that fell in November is still providing snow cover in places such as Showdown Ski Area in the Little Belt Mountains and Great Divide in Marysville, allowing winter recreation to continue, Waranauskas said.

Montana�s average 2015 temp ties warmest on record

Records for Feb. 9

Havre: 58, tied 1926 record

Turner: 56, broke record of 51 set in 1984

Cut Bank: 65, broke record of 57 set in 1984

Choteau: 73, broke statewide record of 71, set in Hardin in 1996. All-time record for February is 79 degrees, set in 1932 in Columbus

Great Falls: 63, broke record of 62 set in 1970