Snowpack levels below average after dry November

Record rains in October haven’t translated to a record snowpack as the ski season is about to begin.

The Flathead River Basin snowpack is just 73 percent of average, with low elevation sites well below average. Many Glacier, in Glacier National Park, is just 20 percent of average. Emery Creek, up the Hungry Horse Reservoir, is just 50 percent of average.

In fact, all of the SNOTEL sites below 5,500 feet are well below average for this time of year, namely because the precipitation has been falling as rain.

October saw record amounts of rain, but that didn’t translate into snow in the high country. November was a drier month in the valley. The Glacier Park International Airport recorded .58 inches of rain so far in November. Normal is about 1.28 inches.

Higher elevations have seen more rain than snow. Noisy Basin, at just over 6,000 feet in the Jewel Basin Hiking Area, is below average for snow, with just 4.7 inches of snow water equivalent. Normally it has more than 7 inches by this time of year.

The overall precipitation levels are well above average except for Badger Pass, which is just south of Marias Pass.

Badger is at 90 percent of average for overall precipitation, while the Flathead River Basin as whole is 149 percent of average for total precipitation since Oct. 1.

There are just two sites currently above average for snow in the Flathead — West Flattop Mountain in Glacier National Park at 6,300 feet is at 122 percent of average and Stahl Peak in Lincoln County at 6,030 feet is 148 percent of average.

The weather is expected to improve for snow lovers this week, with cooler weather and a chance of snow through the weekend. Highs should be in the 30s in the valleys and 20s in the mountains.