Snow Returns to the Rockies

The season’s first snowfall here in the Montana Rockies actually came in September. That is well over a month early. However, it was only a light dusting of snow in the highest elevations, so it didn’t affect us here on the valley floor.

We also got our first light frost in late September. Again, that is quite early, but there was still the possibility of a return to normal fall weather and temperatures.

That hope ended rather abruptly three days ago when we had our first hard frost and temperatures dropped to 28 F. That ended our growing season in a hurry and destroyed my garden. It also hastened the falling of leaves, which only started turning gold, red, orange, and yellow a couple of weeks ago. Across the street, our neighbors walnut tree made sounds like a machine gun as walnuts dropped off the tree and bounced off their tin roof.

This morning when my daughter went to work, there was a light layer of snow in that town, about 60 miles from here. We didn’t get snow, yet, but the snow level is about 400 feet above us, judging from the snow on the hills. 

Weather predictors have forecast more rain in the next few days, but our nighttime lows are supposed to drop down into the low 20’s and possibly the teen tonight and the next few days. What falls won’t be rain, if their prediction is correct.

All of this is way early by about a month and a half and it doesn’t bode well for a ‘normal’ winter here. The jet stream is also dipping down almost to Mexico, so the cold air will spread. I hope that everyone in the US is ready for winter. 

The good news is that our church has its firewood in for the winter and with the help of several groups that traveled here from out of state, the wood yard has wood ready for needy people, for heating. Amazingly, despite the low temperatures, the flowerbeds I take care of at the church also still have flowers that are blooming. Even across the street, the flower plants are dead from the frost, as are mine, a block away. God takes care of things, though. There’s nothing special about the location, it is simply a house of God. We still had new blossoms at church a week before Christmas last year…with several feet of snow on the ground. Mind you, those aren’t cold-hardy flowers.

Now I need to turn my mind toward winterizing my chicken coop. The last time winter weather came this early, the temperature dropped to 40 below zero. The chicken coop isn’t insulated, but with a little assistance (very little), the chickens survived it. They are amazingly resilient creatures. We’ll lose a lot of eggs because of freezing, but the chickens make do and I just try to make it easier for them, as much as I can with the funds we have.

***********************************

The picture is from the last time winter weather arrived this early; 2014. The picture was taken in early November during that year, about 10 miles north of town. At that time of year, normally there would be no snow in early November. Oh, yes, I believe in climate change. Summers are getting shorter and winters are getting longer, colder, and harsher.