Lack of February Precipitation Decreases Snowpack Percentages Across Montana Basins

Despite another round of promising weather outlooks, February did not bring the anticipated storms and was, overall, disappointingly dry. The main culprit was a stubborn ridge of high pressure off the West Coast that blocked Pacific moisture from flowing to the Rocky Mountain region. Southwest Montana only received 50-80% of its typical precipitation and even set record low accumulations for February, according to USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) SNOTEL period of record data. "January precipitation was below normal for most of Montana, and February was worse in many river...