OUTDOORS: Milk River drainage, Montana well above average for snow pack

As the second half of spring begins, the snowpack situation in Montana is looking good, and that's in spite of a below average winter.

According to the USDA's Montana Snotel Snow Water Equlivent report for April 14, all of Montana's major river basins had recorded above average snowpack by the middle of April. The St. Mary and Milk River Basin, which directly impacts the Hi-Line, was sitting at 143 percent above average which was the highest above average of any Montana river basin.

By April, many low- and mid-elevation mountain snowpack monitoring locations are typically approaching seasonal peak snowpack for the year. That gives hydrologists good insight into what water supply may look like during spring and summer - information important to everyone from irrigators to recreationalists.

National Weather Service in Great Falls reported that Havre has already received 7.7 inches of snow since April 1, while new snow in the Bear Paw Mountains has exceeded 10 inches in the first 14 days of April.