Hoeven declares drought emergency for ND
BISMARCK, N.D. – With extended dry conditions across the state and little significant rainfall in the forecast, Gov. John Hoeven today declared a statewide "early phase agricultural drought emergency…" (more)
Montana's Snowpack Bodes Well—If It Doesn't Melt Too Fast
By Kyle Lehman, 5-01-08
Montana's cool La Nina year has meant that much of the state's high country snow pack is close to its historic average, but according to regional experts, how long it sticks around depends on this spring's temperatures… (more)
Normal snowpack won't compensate for dry Plains
April 7, 2008
By the Associated Press
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The mountain snowpack is slightly above normal, but the Army Corps of Engineers is forecasting only 80 percent of normal runoff into the Missouri River system this year. "The snowpack normally peaks in mid-April… (more)
Climate Prediction Center Forecasts La Nina Event to Continue
Atmospheric and oceanic conditions during February 2008 continued to reflect a strong La Niña… (more)
Banking on spring
By MARTIN J. KIDSTON
Independent Record
March 11, 2008
Lewis and Clark County remains “slightly dry” despite an above-average snowpack at mountain elevations. Several surrounding counties, including Broadwater and Jefferson, are also listed as “moderately dry” and remain under a drought-alert status… (more)
Snowpack at least average
By The Associated Press
February 22, 2008
The state says that the mountain snowpack is running from average to above average in places. But it's too early to tell what that means for the summer. If all the snow melts in an early rush, the state could still be dealing with water shortages later in the year… (More)
2 reports urge big changes in water usage in West
By MIKE STARK
The Billings Gazette
February 01, 2008
The West is big, growing and thirsty. But the water that sustains it is in shorter supply these days - thanks in part to human influence on the earth's climate - and it's time for a profound shift in how it's managed across the West, according to two papers published Thursday in the professional journal Science… (more)
Early snowpack measurements high
By PERRY BACKUS of the Missoulian
If you're the superstitious type, you might want to knock on some wood before you utter this next sentence. So far, the snowpack in western Montana is actually looking pretty good. Of course, Roy Kaiser is quick to point out that it's way too early to start making plans for irrigating crops or rafting a favorite river next summer. A lot can happen between now and next spring… (more)
Record heat a hot topic for Bozeman in 2007
Bozeman Daily Chronicle
January 7, 2008
Greg Ainsworth
Two stories dominated the weather news across the Gallatin Valley in 2007 – record heat and rain clouds that seemed unusually attracted to Bozeman — at Belgrade's expense. A common statistic used by climatologists is mean annual temperature, which is the average of the mean maximum and the mean minimum for the year… (more)
NOAA: 2007 a Top Ten Warm Year for U.S. and Globe
December 13, 2007
The year 2007 is on pace to become one of the 10 warmest years for the contiguous U.S., since national records began in 1895, according to preliminary data from NOAA's National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. The year was marked by exceptional drought in the U.S. Southeast and the West, which helped fuel another extremely active wildfire season… (more)
NOAA Researcher: 2002 Drought Left Millions of Tons of Extra Carbon Dioxide in Earth's Atmosphere
November 26, 2007
A new NOAA study, appearing in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows how a prolonged drought in North America in 2002 cut the continent's natural uptake of carbon dioxide (CO2) in half, leaving more than 360 million tons (330 million metric tons) more of the heat-trapping greenhouse gas in Earth's atmosphere. The amount not absorbed that year is equivalent to annual emissions from more than 200 million U.S. automobiles…(more)
October 2007 is Ninth Warmest on Record for Contiguous United States
Global Temperature Sixth Warmest on Record, as La Niña Continues
Temperatures in October 2007 were the ninth warmest on record for the contiguous U.S., and especially warm in the Northeast, where five states had their warmest October on record. The January-October 2007 U.S. temperature was the seventh warmest since national records began in 1895, according to scientists at NOAA's National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. The global surface temperature was sixth warmest on record for October… (more)
NOAA Still Sees Above Average Temperatures for Most of the U.S. and Below Normal Precipitation Across the South
Agency Issues Final U.S. Winter Outlook for the 2007-08 Season
November 15, 2007
In the final forecast update to the U.S. winter outlook, NOAA Climate Prediction Center forecasters remain confident in predicting above average temperatures for much of the country – including southern sections of the Northeast – and below normal precipitation for the southern tier of the nation. Above average precipitation is still anticipated for the Pacific Northwest, and in the Great Lakes and Tennessee Valley… (more)
