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Meanwhile in Montana

thomas rubino

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Location: latitude 47 N.W. montana zone 6A

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February 9th, 2026 6 AM +38F
Although it is finally starting to warm up on the east side of the Mississippi, here in what is normally a winter wonderland, things are a bit off.
We are getting a normal amount of moisture. Snow-pac in the mountains is 85%-140 %. Snow-pac in the valleys is non-existent! We have not had more than 2-4 inches of snow all winter! Some years I have had 5' in the front yard (A bit much) this year...Nothing! My plow truck has only come up to the yard one time all winter! I mainly plowed dirt from the driveway with a few inches of snow mixed in!
Now lets talk temperatures. By mid-February, we normally have had extended periods of temperatures at or below zero.
This year, we have not even dipped into the single digits! I put the studded tires on the Black car in November, and it has stayed parked all winter while we drive the Blue car with all-season tires. We had one week of teens for the low, and twenties for the high... this last week we have hit FIFTY degrees! In February!!! Nighttime temps have been around or above freezing since Christmas or earlier! Unheard of temperatures.
The grass is growing, the pig pen is vibrant green... I am considering planting coconut palm trees this spring, as we are obviously now in Tropical Montana.
Perhaps Liz can start a hula dancing class...
I guess I'll need to build a cabana... and start planning the inground swimming pool...

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M Ljin

master gardener

Posts: 2023

Location: Zone 5

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That is very strange!

I was noticing in the January harvesting photo how Montana is supposed to be in the same grow zone as me, at least parts (zones 4, 5) but how is it that Paul is going out in a light coat and pulling up sunchokes when the ground should be frozen and covered in snow? Here, it's very snowy and in the negative teens fahrenheit last night! A good old fashioned winter.

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John F Dean

master steward

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Location: southern Illinois, USA

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You have less snow than I do. Mine should melt off today.

I lied!!! Well, maybe “should” is ok. It got over 50 today with clear skies. It is now dark. Most of the snow is still on the ground. I am seriously considering moving in with Thomas …it will be a great surprise for him.

2/10 5:00 PM. Most of the snow is gone. I am pretty sure we cleared 70 f.

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Christopher Weeks

master gardener

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Location: Carlton County, Minnesota, USA: 3b; Dfb; sandy loam; in the woods

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We've had a foot or two -- depending on drifts, since November. It's maybe a little lighter than usual this year. But it has seemed substantially warmer than usual. It was -30 when our furnace went out a few weeks ago, but that was a fairly temporary cold snap. Usually by now we'll have had a week solid where the high is -20. But even when we've had some night-time cold, it got up into the negative single digits during the day. It's been an easy winter to live with.

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John Weiland

pollinator

Posts: 2812

Location: RRV of da Nort, USA

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Christopher Weeks wrote:We've had a foot or two -- depending on drifts, since November.

Yeah, just west across the state from you. Although we do have several weeks of winter left to produce storms and blizzards, the local fields are not as deeply covered as they should be and this makes the farmers nervous. That snow cover when melted provides important moisture for planting and beyond. The 'warmer' snap right now is outside of what was predicted at the start of winter so I'm not complaining and have a good firewood supply to round out the season. But adding to Thomas R. comments, a relative in Boise Idaho was mentioning that even snowpack in surrounding mountains is way down, so concerns there for sure.

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John F Dean

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Here is my front yard. We are, latitude wise, south of Louisville, KY.

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Jay Angler

master steward

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Location: Pacific Wet Coast

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thomas rubino wrote:... I am considering planting coconut palm trees this spring, as we are obviously now in Tropical Montana...

I just hope Mother Nature isn't saving up to give us double the cold next winter?

My area clearly has "cold winters" and "warm winters". This can be partly ascribed to El Nino and La Nina cycles, but there are definitely other influencers out there and a few degrees of latitude that a tropical storm gets to, can change our weather.

I've been working outside the last week capitalizing on some unexpected sun. I have a lot of trees budding up. If we do suddenly get a cold snap, it could be a problem.

If this is the new normal, I need to up my game in the micro-climate and suntrap/warmthtrap areas.

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Nancy Reading

steward and tree herder

Posts: 12722

Location: Isle of Skye, Scotland. Nearly 70 inches rain a year

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M Ljin wrote:I was noticing in the January harvesting photo how Montana is supposed to be in the same grow zone as me, at least parts (zones 4, 5) but how is it that Paul is going out in a light coat and pulling up sunchokes when the ground should be frozen and covered in snow?

I'm not sure about the light coat (maybe paul runs warm!) but he was harvesting off his hugel berm I believe? One of the benefits of established hugel is that they are supposed to give out warmth as the logs decay...

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thomas rubino

master rocket scientist

Posts: 7033

Location: latitude 47 N.W. montana zone 6A

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You pegged it, Jay.
Is this the new normal?
Or, could we get hammered with cold and snow again next year?
Until next year, only the Shadow knows.

This year, we could still get winter through March and well into April or May; it has done so before.
But even if we do, it will not last.

I think I will hold off on planting palm trees for a few years and stick to planting seaberries; they do not care whether it is tropical or subarctic.

For all your Montana Masonry Heater parts (also known as) Rocket Mass heater parts.
Visit me at
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Deane Adams

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Hey Tom, if it makes you feel better it was 10F here in Virginia this morning. I haven't seen bare ground or grass for nearly three weeks now. I can't remember a time when we had snow covering the ground this long. I had snow drops up and about three inches high before this storm.

Peace/Heddwch

Carla Burke

Rusticator

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Location: Missouri Ozarks

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Montana has been warmer and got less snow this year, than Missouri... I truly HOPE this is not the new normal.

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John Weiland

pollinator

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This must be the warm-up spell as it was near 40F today. Good thing about the previous stretch of cold was the very solid freezing of the river near the house. So much dead elm along that river that it's unlikely for us to run out of firewood. On days like this, I can tow a decent size sled pretty easily across the flat snow and ice in search of felled trees. A few cuts usually reveals the dry stuff and the sled fills quickly. This allows me to get some much needed extra exercise and helps to top up the woodpile in the event that winter decides to overstay its welcome.

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Douglas Alpenstock

master pollinator

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Location: Canadian Prairies - Zone 3b

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Jay Angler wrote: I have a lot of trees budding up. If we do suddenly get a cold snap, it could be a problem.

Yeah, I'm worried as well. We're getting extended "chinooks" with warm and melty weather, punctuated by extreme cold. This is the perfect recipe for winter-killing perennials including fruit trees. Their "toes" are still well frozen in (due to my heavy fall watering) and snow covered so hopefully they won't be fooled.

We've been seeing the change in winter norms for 15 years. Observation indicates something is up. It's a worry.

marie-helene kutek

pollinator

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Location: SE France

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Salut,
Twenty years ago, winter; -15C to -17C, snow enough to make snow angels comfortably and to get the low slung car stuck on the drive up to the house.
This year, violettes and anemones, cowslips flowering at the end of January,
I can`t rememb er the last snow here. There have Been icing sugar type suggestions of snow but no more.
The temperatures vary drastically from day to day. Just too cold for snow but inches deep ice in water buckets followed by sun and short trousers the following day.
What is a girl to wear? never mind the buds on fruit trees etc as someone has mentioned.
Nights are nippy and there is sporadic hoar frost of a morning.
Physically, I find these unpredictable weather variations tiring even exhausting.
I suppose it might be the same for all beings?
Hmmm, is it dark forces at work?
Forward and onward and thank you for the photos
Blessings from M-H

With blessings, always

Carla Burke

Rusticator

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Thomas, I can't help wondering if you've been thinking of a plan for working your gardens around the weather weirdness? Have you thought of any strategies that might work for your usual crops? Are you thinking of changing cultivars, to stay with the same produce, just in warmer climate versions? What steps are you thinking of for your cooler weather perennials that are currently getting confused about when to green-up, and how to protect them from overheating, if it goes that way?

So far, my strategy has consisted of finding ways to use containers, so I can bring most of my perennials(&some annuals) indoors, for the winter, while planting only small numbers outdoors, to see if they can handle the change. But, not everyone has the space and south-facing exposure for that, and frankly, mine is limited, and I'm kinda pushing John's patience with the increasing real estate being devoted to growing my indoor jungle.

Christopher Weeks

master gardener

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Location: Carlton County, Minnesota, USA: 3b; Dfb; sandy loam; in the woods

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Out here, the oddly warm weather has continued, and my yard now has places where the snow is 2 feet deep and other places where the grass is showing through. This is really premature for the snow to be melting away.

John C Daley

pollinator

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Location: Bendigo , Australia

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Here we had a balmy 28 deg. C clear sky.
We had a summer flood last week, 76mm of rain in about 24 hours causing a bit of flooding on my small farm.
So I have bought an excavator to remove one of the earth walls from a dam to allow the creek to flow past without going through one of my factories I built in drier times.

John Daley Bendigo, Australia The Enemy of progress is the hope of a perfect plan
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Eric Hanson

Steward and Man of Many Mushrooms

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Location: Southern Illinois

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Ok Thomas, I don’t know what to make of this, but this year my region had a winter that was cooler than normal and we had a good 9” snowfall—some places more.

We started out drier and warmer than typical and I was wondering if I would even need to attach snow clearing attachments to my tractor. But then it happened—we got a good snowfall and it was even a dry, crisp type of snow that drifted just a little. Too bad that it didn’t drift more so my students would have first-hand experience with blowing, drifting snow. But a good snowfall nonetheless.

Yesterday the high was 71f, humid and we got a brief but temperamental rainstorm. As I type this now at 2:30am (just getting up for the day), the temperature is 39f! By now we are on the cooler side of what I thought was going to be a warm winter.

Ain’t weather crazy!

Eric

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Tereza Okava

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This week i read a longer-term ag forecast that said for the next 3 or 4 winters here we will hit colder low temps than usual. This from the same source that predicted this summer would be extra hot and wet, which hit the nail on the head.

I'm currently planning my fall/winter garden (we are going into fall) and am going to double down on cold crops. Also considering which of the frost-vulnerable plants are going to be protected and which sacrificed.

thomas rubino

master rocket scientist

Posts: 7033

Location: latitude 47 N.W. montana zone 6A

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Meanwhile, in Montana, winter finally arrives...
March 14th 2026
At 33F, it started snowing on Thursday night, and by Friday morning, there was 5-6" of wet heavy snow.
It remained at 33F and snowed all day Friday, and then really started dumping last night.
This morning, we have apx 14" of wet snow, and it remains at 33F. Tonight, it drops to 14F.
I went out to shovel a trail to the studio to light the Dragon off.
After getting it going, I walked out to head to the shop to light her off, and what did I see?
A 70' pine tree uprooted itself and tipped over and landed on my smoke shack!!!
Then it hit my barn! The only lucky thing is that the smoke shack was strong enough to take the brunt of the fall, and my barn appears intact.
The smoke shack is not intact, and I do not know how it will fare while I remove the tree.

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For all your Montana Masonry Heater parts (also known as) Rocket Mass heater parts.
Visit me at
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Jay Angler

master steward

Posts: 14987

Location: Pacific Wet Coast

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I know all about wet, heavy snow, where I live. Do not take it lightly (yeah... I couldn't resist ). Clear it slowly with lots of short breaks so your body stays functioning the way we like it.

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thomas rubino

master rocket scientist

Posts: 7033

Location: latitude 47 N.W. montana zone 6A

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Sounds like a good idea, Jay.
I plan to enlist the aid of the boys and their buddies.
I think I'll stay on the ground and drag off branches.
I have had bad luck on ladders in recent years, and I do not care to have more!

For all your Montana Masonry Heater parts (also known as) Rocket Mass heater parts.
Visit me at
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Derek Thille

gardener

Posts: 574

Location: Southern Manitoba...bald(ish) prairie, zone 3ish

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As I type this in southern Manitoba, it's -16C / 3F. If anyone wants more winter, feel free to come to this part of the world. We do have variability and John W isn't that far away. Actually we typically have a thaw in January...sometimes Ma Nature doesn't check the calendar and it drifts into December or February. Presently, we are below average temperatures, but that will swing to well above average later this week.

Photos are from the acreage on February 2. The before shot, then I dig out to the man door to get the tractor and blower out. The tractor often has its toughest work getting out to the driveway (to the right / east of the shop...the doors face south). Two spots of the driveway will drift in - north of where the shop blocks the wind and south in front of the house. I forget exactly, but I think the shop walls are 14' (but might be 12'...it's 40' wide).

I'm working on windbreaks that will help with the drifts in awkward spots. When using growies, it takes time. Every year is different - this year there is now a hugelkulture bed NW of the shop, so there were interesting drift patterns again. A calm day is rare...there is typically a breeze and frequently higher winds.

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Jay Angler

master steward

Posts: 14987

Location: Pacific Wet Coast

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Derek Thille wrote:

I'm working on windbreaks that will help with the drifts in awkward spots.

Wow - all that snow represents valuable water for your summer crops. I hope you find good ways to get the drifts where you want them, and not where you don't! Trees, hugels, annuals like Mammoth Sunflowers, there are so many tools in the permie toolbox to experiment with!

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John Weiland

pollinator

Posts: 2812

Location: RRV of da Nort, USA

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Derek Thille wrote:.... The tractor often has its toughest work getting out to the driveway (to the right / east of the shop...the doors face south). Two spots of the driveway will drift in - north of where the shop blocks the wind and south in front of the house.

In one of the few things we did right when moving to the property in 1992 and having the first outbuildings added, I had the new garage facing north. This is not necessarily a desire....like Derek's shop building, one desires a southern face to take advantage of the sun. But we all know so well how drifting from N or NW winds will curl around a building and dump excess drifting on the south side. So no solar gain on our garage, but I've not had to worry about drifting for the main door on that building. And yes, wind-breaks are really quite amazing at the micro-climate they afford. I'm reminded of this every time I need to go to the mailbox on the open county road an get blasted by that north wind! Jay had noted the issue about saving water in certain areas of the property and yes, this is worth considering, although not to the extent that it may be for others. If I recall, Derek, you also are in the Red River Valley floor and that is rich in clay and high in water table. The region was still producing decent crops during the dust bowl era even if still compromised a bit from normal. But just to note as a comparison to days in the Pacific NW, was always impressed with the clean mountain run-off from winter and spring rain in the Willamette Valley. By contrast, the summer mud and clay in the Red River Valley is pretty ..... well.....muddy! But *spring* runoff water, when the subsoil is still much frozen, can be quite clean and I've often thought how nice it would be to collect this in a sunken tank to then use later for summer watering. On my list of "if only we'd done....". ;-)

“The most important decision we make is whether we believe we live in a friendly or hostile universe.”― Albert Einstein

Derek Thille

gardener

Posts: 574

Location: Southern Manitoba...bald(ish) prairie, zone 3ish

294

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Jay Angler wrote:Derek Thille wrote:

I'm working on windbreaks that will help with the drifts in awkward spots.

Wow - all that snow represents valuable water for your summer crops. I hope you find good ways to get the drifts where you want them, and not where you don't! Trees, hugels, annuals like Mammoth Sunflowers, there are so many tools in the permie toolbox to experiment with!

Agreed. Some people look at me funny when I use the phrase "harvesting snow". Depending how far away from the buildings I get, there may not be enough sunlight for sunflowers, but currants would like that and in spite of only getting about waist high, that would be effective enough when surrounded by bald prairie.

Where that drift is is effectively a low spot that is sort of a courtyard - there's an old shop building to the left / west with doors on the east side. I've create a broad drain to the dugout which moves some of the excess spring melt. Unfortunately, it isn't quite deep enough so there is still a spring pool in front of both shops. At least now water doesn't infiltrate the old shop.

Yes John, RRV - the soil test suggested silty clay. A neighbour referred to it as Sperling gumbo as the area had been swampy and was drained to create somewhat arable land. The NE corner of the quarter section our acreage was carved out of typically has a pool at spring runoff season. Maps of the area show creeks have been channelled to flow straight east to the Morris River or another tributary or directly to the Red River. Then people wonder why the region is prone to floods....

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