April showers? More like snow showers

Summer is coming, even if spring hasn’t completely felt like spring. And, certainly, April didn’t feel like spring.

Earlier this week, the National Weather Service in Great Falls released its April weather summary, as well as a summer for north-central Montana with data compiled from last October through April.

And two things about April stood out for Havre. The first was, in a relatively short window, it snowed a lot in April. Havre received 11.1 inches of snow for the month, with a normal April seeing just 3.0 inches fall in Havre. The 11 inches that fell in Havre were from storms that hit the area in consecutive weekends, as well as one mid-week storm that dumped around 3.0 inches. Havre saw its eighth-snowiest April on record, and Bozeman was the only other city in Montana that recorded more than 10 inches of snow during the month.

The second thing that stood out in Havre in April was, for much of the month, it was cold.

Havre’s average daily high for the month was 39.3 degrees, which was more than five degrees below normal. Havre’s average daily temperature for the month of April is 44.4 degrees, according to the NWS. And while Havre was snowier than most places, it wasn’t as cold as others. Great Falls, Lewistown and Cut Bank all were colder in April than Havre. As always, it was also windy in April. Havre’s average daily wind speed in April was 11.7 MPH, which was close to normal.

For the season to date, it’s been quite the year for Havre as well.

From October 1 to April 30, Havre has received 77.2 inches of snow, which is the second-highest during that stretch to date. A normal October to May sees Havre average 36.7 inches of snow. Bozeman also saw its second-highest seasonal total ever, while Great Falls, which saw 99.6 inches fall, had just its fifth-snowiest season. And Cut Bank was the big winner, with 100.6 inches falling between Oct. 1 and April 30 — which is the snowiest Cut Bank has ever been during that time frame.

For temperatures between Oct. 1 and April 30, Havre was nearly normal, averaging a daily high of 29.3 degrees. The average is 30.1 during that time frame. Cut Bank and Great Falls were slightly colder than Havre, while Lewistown was slightly warmer.

Winds over the course of the winter averaged a bit stronger than normal. Havre’s average daily windspeed from Oct. 1 to April 30 was 11.0. The normal for the time frame is 9.3 mph, which made this season the 9th windiest on record according to the NWS in Great Falls.

So, with the data now in from April, it’s easy to see that it’s been a roller coaster ride for weather in Havre. The fall was well-below average for temps and above for precipitation but then, winter went to above average for temps and well-below average for precipitation. In fact, Havre received just more than 13 inches of snow for Dec. 1 to Feb. 29, which was only two more inches than what fell in April alone.

And the ride is expected to continue for the final 20 days of spring. While Havre has experienced some warm days recently, even hitting the 80-degree mark for the first time since last September, an up-and-down pattern is expected to continue. While National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted a slightly above-average May last week for north-central Montana, Havre’s 10-day outlook is a mixed bag. The average daily high for Havre in May is 68 degrees, but NWS and The Weather Channel’s extended outlook don’t have Havre hitting that mark in the next 10 days. In fact, this weekend and into next week calls for temperatures in the mid to low 50s with nighttime lows falling back into the low 30s. Havre is also predicted to see some rainfall Friday night, and chances for rain go into next week as well.