It's the middle of August but believe it or not, the end of meteorological summer is just a little more than two weeks away. Even with impending heat this week, this summer has been pretty average here in Montana, and that's not bad.
Being average is not bad, especially with regard to the weather. Summer in Montana can be really, really hot and fiery, but not this year. It has been fairly mild compared to some years, with most locations experiencing near-average temperature and precipitation through meteorological summer.
Helena was half a degree above normal for June with above-average rain. July was 2 degrees above normal and slightly drier than normal. August highs so far are 2 degrees below normal with slightly below-average rain. For the year, the average high temperature is just one-tenth of a degree above normal with near-normal precipitation.
Great Falls was also half a degree above normal for June with above-average rain. July was nearly 2 degrees above normal with half the average precipitation. August highs so far are about 2.5 degrees below average with near-normal rain. For the year so far, average highs are point 3 degrees below normal with nearly 2 inches of above-normal precipitation.
Record low temps hit much of Montana in late June. From July 22-24, many towns had record highs in what was the hottest spell of the year. But by the first weekend of August, much of Montana had record rain and cool temperatures.
Summer is not over yet and this week will be very hot with record highs likely, but as meteorological summer ends on the final day of August, looking back at summer 2023 and a very average summer will be found, and that's not bad.
