We have had a run of “good” weather, we got to see the sun for a couple days without arctic temperatures and we seem to be moving into the early spring mode of a weather change every five minutes or so and temperatures creeping into the mid 40′s and even low 50′s. It has been mild by February standards- and dry. Is there a problem? I have a cold/flu bug and while the weather is pretty decent it’s killing my affinity for going outside.
I hate having bugs, summer it’s worse (because the weather is usually good) but during the winter I’m even more of a wuss. I somehow become even more sensitized to the cold (even if it’s not really cold), easily “chilled” as it were and basically all but shun the thought of doing much more than going outside and getting another piece of firewood. As much as I despise house cats they have one thing down, finding a window in the sunlight and plopping their useless carcasses down right in the middle of it and going to sleep. Right now I can really relate to that except that I am grinding away on the keyboard and rifling through tax receipts.
The only consolation is that most of the fish in the country are still trapped under the ice or sulking in their deep holds, like me, waiting for spring. The downside of that, we are not gaining any ground on our snow pack. It is in fact, already melting. There is very little snow below 4,000 ft. around here. There is still time for good snow, there’s always time in this country, the real question is- will it come?
MONTANA SNOTEL Snow Water Equivalent Update Graph
As of THURSDAY: FEBRUARY 25 , 2010
| Basin | Snow Water Equivalent Percent of Average |
| KOOTENAI RIVER BASIN |  68% |
| FLATHEAD RIVER BASIN |  72% |
| UPPER CLARK FORK RIVER BASIN | 70% |
| BITTERROOT RIVER BASIN | 52% |
| LOWER CLARK FORK RIVER BASIN | 53% |
| JEFFERSON RIVER BASIN | 72% |
| MADISON RIVER BASIN | 69% |
| GALLATIN RIVER BASIN | 83% |
| MISSOURI HEADWATERS | 72% |
| HEADWATERS MISSOURI MAINSTEM | 82% |
| SMITH, JUDITH, AND MUSSELSHELL RIVER BASINS |  99% |
| SUN, TETON AND MARIAS RIVER BASINS | 57% |
| MISSOURI MAINSTEM RIVER BASIN | 78% |
| ST MARY AND MILK RIVER BASINS | 71% |
| UPPER YELLOWSTONE RIVER BASIN | 71% |
| WIND RIVER BASIN (WYOMING) | 66% |
| SHOSHONE RIVER BASIN (WYOMING) | 58% |
| BIGHORN RIVER BASIN (WYOMING) | 67% |
| TONGUE RIVER BASIN (WYOMING) | 75% |
| POWDER RIVER BASIN (WYOMING) | 88% |
| LOWER YELLOWSTONE RIVER BASIN | 69% |
| Legend: | <70% |
70-90% |
91-110% |
 111-130% |
 >130% |
