Montana Crop Weather Report
Issue: 09-03
For the Month Ending: March 29, 2009
Released: March 30, 2009
For more information contact: Lindsey Houska or Steve Anderson at 1-800-835-2612.		 Completed and Summarized by:
USDA, NASS, Montana Field Office
In conjunction with: MSU Extension Agents
and USDA County Service Centers
 
Weather Summary

Most of Montana received moderate precipitation for the month of March. White Sulphur Springs received the most monthly accumulated precipitation with 3.16 inches. Bozeman received a record high precipitation on March 29 of 0.44 of an inch, breaking the old record of 0.39 of an inch set in 1967. Billings had a record snowfall of 3.5 inches on the 25th, breaking the previous record of 3.0 inches set in 1948. Temperatures during the month of March were slightly below normal. Highs ranged from 40s to 70s and lows ranged from minus thirties to positive teens. Broadus had the high temperature during the month of 77 degrees, and Scobey had the low temperature of negative 33 degrees. Topsoil moisture adequate and surplus is 85 percent, above last month's 83 percent and much higher than last year's 30 percent. Subsoil moisture adequate and surplus is 74 percent, above last month's 62 and last year's 24 percent.

The weather outlook for April 6th through April 12th is for above normal temperatures and near normal precipitation east of the continental divide and for near normal temperatures and above normal precipitation west of the divide. Normal temperatures for this period in Montana are highs in the mid 40s to the mid 50s and lows ranging from the upper teens to the lower 30s.
 
According to the NRCS, snowpack on March 1st was 85 percent of average and 77 percent of last year west of the continental divide. Snowpack was 90 percent of average and 88 percent of 2007 east of the divide. Mountain snow water content statewide was 87 percent of average and 81 percent of last year. Spring streamflow is forecasted to average 76 to 89 percent.
 

Soil Moisture Table

This Month

Last Month

Last Year

Topsoil Moisture

 Very Short

4

2

29

 Short

11

15

41

 Adequate

74

78

29

 Surplus

11

5

1

Subsoil Moisture

 Very Short

8

14

30

 Short

18

24

46

 Adequate

70

60

23

 Surplus

4

2

1
 
Field Crops Report

Snow cover during the month of March was mostly poor. Recent warm temperatures during the last couple weeks caused snow cover to melt. Winter wheat damage from wind, freeze, and drought has been light to none. Eighty-two percent of winter wheat is still dormant, compared to 71 percent last year. Winter wheat conditions declined since last month but are better than last year.
 
Crop Condition Table

This Month

Last Month

Last Year
Winter Wheat      
 Very Poor

1

1

4
 Poor

3

4

11
 Fair

40

36

51
 Good

52

55

31
 Excellent

4

4

3
Winter Wheat- Wind Damage      
 None

62

65

37
 Light

33

27

37
 Moderate

4

6

24
 Heavy

1

2

2
Winter Wheat- Freeze and Drought Damage
 None

53

63

38
 Light

37

30

41
 Moderate

9

6

20
 Heavy

1

1

1
Winter Wheat- Protectiveness of Snow Cover
 Very Poor

24

7

47
 Poor

43

24

22
 Fair

25

30

20
 Good

6

27

9
 Excellent

2

12

2
Winter Wheat- Spring Stages      
 Still Dormant

82

n/a

71
 Greening

17

n/a

28
 Greening & Growing

1

n/a

1
 
 
Livestock Report

Livestock birthing for both cattle and sheep are behind last year. Only 40 percent of pastures are open for grazing compared to 69 percent last year. Grazing has not been possible in many areas as cold weather and snow cover have not allowed grass to green. Producers in the north central district are hoping they have enough hay supplies to last until the grass does green up
 
Range & Livestock Table

This Month

Last Month

Last Year
Livestock Birthing      
 Calving Completed

52

20

53
 Lambing Completed

30

9

40
Livestock Grazing      
 Open

40

28

69
 Difficult

41

45

15
 Closed

19

27

16
Livestock Receiving Supplemental Feed
 Cattle and Calves

90

94

96
 Sheep and Lambs

93

96

96
 
Weather Information for the month ending 03/29/2009                        

Station

Temperature

Precipitation March

Precipitation October 1 to date

Hi

Low

Avg

DFN

Total

DFN

% Nrm

Total

DFN

% Nrm

NORTHWEST

                    

Alberton

65

2

34

-5

1.71

+0.81

190

11.55

+5.87

203

Anaconda

61

-1

32

-3

3.13

+2.17

326

8.56

+4.26

199

Clinton

61

1

34

+2

1.59

+0.86

218

6.59

-0.86

88

Corvallis

66

6

35

-5

0.90

+0.28

145

5.03

+0.85

120

Creston

54

-12

30

-5

1.26

+0.05

104

8.07

-0.03

100

Deer Lodge

61

-2

30

-5

0.80

+0.35

178

3.34

+0.95

140

Drummond

61

-2

32

-4

1.56

+0.87

226

6.89

+2.44

155

Hamilton

68

7

34

-4

0.96

+0.14

117

7.09

+1.39

124

Kalispell

56

-7

32

-4

0.81

-0.24

77

7.48

-0.27

97

Missoula

63

5

35

-3

0.95

+0.05

106

5.96

+0.28

105

Olney

57

-14

25

-7

0.93

-0.33

74

10.75

-1.00

91

Polson

58

-2

32

-6

0.84

-0.12

88

5.55

-0.79

88

St Ignatius

66

-8

33

-7

1.54

+0.46

143

8.30

+2.19

136

Seeley Lake

58

-21

30

-3

2.01

+0.77

162

14.83

+3.31

129

Sula

60

-1

30

-4

1.63

+0.72

179

6.58

+0.60

110

Superior

63

2

37

-4

1.26

+0.08

107

9.82

+1.57

119

Swan Lake

58

-13

29

-4

1.80

-0.04

98

14.81

-1.65

90

Thompson Falls

63

2

37

-4

2.24

+0.56

133

13.03

-0.39

97

West Glacier

53

-10

29

-5

2.10

+0.37

121

15.18

-0.34

98

NORTH CENTRAL

                    

Chester

62

-24

26

-6

0.35

-0.12

74

5.29

+2.95

226

Chinook

61

-22

24

-7

0.03

-0.49

6

3.16

+0.16

105

Choteau

63

-18

30

-5

0.70

+0.40

233

2.56

+0.84

149

Cut Bank

63

-16

28

-3

0.48

-0.03

94

1.37

-1.01

58

Ft Assinniboine

63

-21

25

-8

0.04

-0.56

7

3.99

+0.83

126

Fort Benton

69

-19

30

-8

0.47

-0.32

59

3.88

+0.30

108

Goldbutte

64

-30

29

-4

0.22

-0.42

34

2.66

-0.39

87

Harlem

58

-19

26

-7

0.28

-0.06

82

3.28

+0.87

136

Havre

62

-20

26

-6

0.06

-0.60

9

2.71

-0.35

89

Malta

59

-18

28

-3

0.37

-0.18

67

4.04

+1.15

140

Rudyard

60

-19

25

-8

0.20

-0.20

50

3.50

+1.70

194

Shelby

64

-23

29

-4

0.66

+0.05

108

2.92

+0.04

101

Turner

60

-24

24

-7

0.22

-0.15

59

2.35

+0.14

106

Valier

63

-20

29

-5

1.16

+0.70

252

2.96

+0.71

132

NORTHEAST

                    

Bredette

49

-24

22

-8

0.14

-0.31

31

4.61

+2.26

196

Culbertson

56

-23

24

-8

0.07

-0.38

16

4.16

+1.55

159

Glasgow

61

-19

26

-5

0.16

-0.27

37

3.20

+0.70

128

Glendive

68

-15

32

+1

0.24

-0.27

47

3.19

+0.07

102

Jordan

69

-11

31

-3

0.15

-0.42

26

3.47

+0.22

107

Nashua

61

-18

27

-7

0.00

-0.36

0

3.62

+1.41

164

Opheim

45

-26

19

-8

0.04

-0.32

11

2.88

+0.79

138

Plentywood

50

-27

21

-9

0.00

-0.57

0

4.37

+1.68

162

St Marie

53

-19

25

-6

0.09

-0.34

21

1.64

-0.86

66

Scobey

49

-33

21

-7

0.16

-0.34

32

4.16

+1.96

189

Sidney

66

-15

29

-4

0.16

-0.36

31

3.75

+0.35

110

Wolf Point

60

-21

24

-8

0.08

-0.38

17

1.87

-0.72

72

CENTRAL

                    

Cascade

61

-13

31

-3

0.96

+0.29

143

3.64

+0.21

106

Grass Range

65

-13

33

-2

0.87

-0.04

96

5.43

+1.26

130

Great Falls

65

-14

32

-2

0.59

-0.34

63

4.25

-0.05

99

Harlowton

64

-16

30

-5

0.80

+0.13

119

3.52

+0.25

108

Helena

62

-10

33

-3

0.93

+0.35

160

3.56

+0.49

116

Lewistown

65

-11

31

-1

0.07

-1.01

6

3.22

-1.94

62

Martinsdale

63

-21

30

-3

1.38

+0.73

212

4.43

+1.19

137

Neihart

60

-17

29

-4

1.20

-0.06

95

6.53

+0.28

104

Rogers Pass

63

-24

29

-4

0.89

-0.16

85

5.16

+0.08

102

Roundup

72

-21

35

-3

0.68

+0.10

117

4.24

+1.06

133

Ryegate

64

-15

31

-2

0.67

+0.11

120

3.74

+0.64

121

Stanford

65

-12

31

-4

1.28

+0.38

142

4.41

+0.06

101

Townsend

63

-15

32

-6

1.21

+0.71

242

3.24

+0.81

133

Valentine

65

-15

30

-3

0.10

-0.57

15

3.81

+0.46

114

Wht Sulphur Spr

59

-18

29

-4

3.16

+2.38

405

6.75

+3.24

192

SOUTHWEST

                    

Boulder

58

-13

29

-4

0.98

+0.50

204

3.76

+0.99

136

Bozeman

57

-10

31

-5

1.71

+0.69

168

5.20

+0.25

105

Butte

56

-7

29

-2

0.63

-0.14

82

2.84

-0.84

77

Dillon

59

-8

30

-5

1.26

+0.77

257

2.39

+0.23

111

Ennis

63

-8

32

-4

1.37

+0.56

169

3.68

-0.11

97

Lakeview

51

-3

26

+1

1.55

-0.11

93

6.37

-0.84

88

W Yellowstone

60

-5

27

+3

1.87

+0.15

109

9.13

-1.96

82

Wisdom

59

-22

26

-1

1.55

+0.94

254

5.69

+1.71

143

SOUTH CENTRAL

                    

Billings

68

-8

35

-2

0.96

-0.06

94

5.08

+0.01

100

Cooke City

61

-6

30

+8

1.59

-0.29

85

4.99

-6.87

42

Gardiner

65

-2

35

-2

0.44

-0.15

75

2.43

-0.68

78

Hardin

74

-11

37

-2

0.23

-0.38

38

3.14

-0.76

81

Huntley

70

-20

33

-4

0.73

-0.10

88

5.47

+1.21

128

Hysham

71

-18

34

-3

0.27

-0.49

36

5.45

+1.63

143

Joliet

65

-11

32

-4

1.31

+0.14

112

5.08

-0.33

94

Livingston

66

-17

33

-3

0.93

+0.16

121

2.50

-1.86

57

Nye

65

-16

33

-4

2.36

+1.33

229

6.26

+1.13

122

Rapelje

66

-13

32

-4

1.16

+0.22

123

4.51

-0.06

99

SOUTHEAST

                    

Albion

74

-12

28

-2

1.37

+0.91

298

7.18

+4.22

243

Baker

73

-17

28

-4

0.46

-0.25

65

3.04

-0.89

77

Broadus

77

-14

35

-1

1.42

+0.63

180

5.53

+1.53

138

Ekalaka

69

-23

30

-3

2.10

+1.37

288

6.89

+2.15

145

Miles City

75

-13

33

-2

0.22

-0.30

42

2.79

-0.65

81

Plevna

72

-24

30

-3

0.57

-0.14

80

4.21

+0.28

107

Compiled by AWIS, Inc. based on NWS data.  DFN – Departure from normal 1971-2000.
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