Will Montana See an Early Spring? Farmer's Almanac Forecast

The old "Punxsutawney Phil" poked his fuzzy little head out of his hole the other day and didn't see his shadow this time around. Because of that, he predicted an "early spring". Was the groundhog right? Will we see an "early" spring in Montana?

Will Montana See An Early Spring

I think the groundhog may have been reading the latest edition of the Old Farmer's Almanac, since they are basically forecasting the same thing. The Old Farmer's Almanac has been a valuable resource for gardeners and farmers since 1792. They offer gardening and farming tips as well as long range weather forecasts.

According to the Farmer's Almanac We Could See an Early Spring

Montana is split into two different categories, the Western part of the state is in the "Intermountain" region and the Eastern part of the state is categorized with the "High Plains" region. There are normally two different forecasts for each region as well. For this coming spring according to the almanac here is what is forecasted for March:

We expect an early start to spring across much of the U.S., with above-average March temperatures along the East Coast (except for Florida), in the eastern Ohio Valley and Great Lakes, from the Deep South up into Texas and Oklahoma, on the West Coast, and in Alaska.

An Early Spring Doesn't Necessarily Mean It's A Good Thing

The forecast in March for the upper Rocky Mountains calls for dryer conditions. That is not a good forecast for Montana's snow pack.

As we prepare for the upcoming spring, keep in mind that we will be turning our clocks ahead an hour for Daylight Saving Time in on March 10th along with most of the country. Montana's winter has already seemed pretty mild, other than the one major cold snap, it has some worried about what we are going to expect this coming summer for the fire season in Montana. For now this is the forecast, and we will be finding out soon if this is an accurate forecast for spring or not.