Dig it! Fifth-snowiest December since 1899
William Baldwin clears snow in front of his 91-year-old father's house in downtown Whitefish on Tuesday afternoon. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)
Kalispell received more than twice its typical snowfall last month, recording its fifth-highest December total since record-keeping began in 1899.
During the final month of 2016, 33.6 inches of snow fell at the National Weather Service’s official weather station at Glacier Park International Airport. On average, the city receives 16.4 inches during the first month of winter. While last month edged out the previous fifth-place record set in 1977, it was still a long shot from 1990’s all-time highest December snow total of 52.1 inches.
Climatologists expect this winter to be colder and snowier than usual in the Northern Rockies. On Monday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center published its monthly report, announcing that La Nina conditions are officially in place.
Those conditions are defined as requiring three consecutive months in which average sea-surface temperatures along the equator in the Pacific stay at least a half-degree Celsius below average. The climatic conditions typically push the jet stream farther north and deliver colder, moister air into the Northern Rockies.
The climate system is expected to peter out over the next few months, but the federal climate agency still predicts above-average precipitation and below-average temperatures in Northwest Montana through the rest of the winter.
Elsewhere in Western Montana, Missoula had its third-snowiest December on record, with 27.8 inches dumping on the city, compared to an average of just 10.9 inches for the month.
Up in the deep northwest corner of the state, however, many of the past month’s winter storms left the region relatively unscathed. Libby’s snowfall total in December was well below the norm, at just 10.8 inches of snow compared to an average of 18.5 inches.
Jeff Kitsmiller, a Weather Service meteorologist at the agency’s Missoula office, said West Glacier’s snow total is still incomplete for last month, but the gateway to Glacier National Park saw at least 46.8 inches through Dec. 29, well above the average of 34.3 inches.
Reporter Samuel Wilson may be reached at 758-4407 or by email at swilson@dailyinterlake.com.