Unusually Warm Winter In Montana Sparks Concerns For Tourism

Is It Winter In Montana Yet?

This has been the warmest Montana winter I can remember in my entire life.  It's actually starting to become pretty worrisome that this will be a fire season for the books (and not in a good way) and that the winter wheat crop, and a lot of other crops, are suffering or will suffer due to lack of winter moisture. Farmers, Ranchers, and firefighters aren't the only ones worrying.  This has been a hard year for the Montana Ski Resorts.

Get our free mobile app

Several ski areas across the state, like Showdown, are partnering with other local ski areas to allow passholders to ski at their mountain, until there is enough snow for them to ski at the resort on their pass.

One Montana Ski Resort Closed Indefinitely

According to Powder Magazine Turner Mountain Ski Area is closed due to lack of snow.  This ski resort is near the town of Libby, Montana.

When you open their website for Turner Mountain Ski Area, in red ink it says, "Temporarily Closed.  Low Snow Levels."

Checking the Turner Mountain Ski Area Facebook page, this happened on Friday, January 26th, 2024, and the status remains the same as of writing.

Snowpack Is Low All Over The State

On January 10, 2024, the Daily Montanan reported that the snowpack for Montana was at 4.7 inches of snow water equivalent, which is 3 inches below the median snow pack for January 10 since 1991.

Like To Float The River And Other Summer Water Activities?

We need snow.  Bottom line, moisture affects nearly everything in Montana.  Like Paula said on the Turner Mountain Ski Area Facebook Page, "Pray for snow peeps".