It's the talk of the town: where's all that Montana Snow?
If you've noticed it seems pretty dry outside for this time of year...your observation is correct. We're experiencing some of the driest conditions we have on record right now. Since November 1st, Helena has received just 0.5" precipitation making it the driest 2 month stretch on record. Great Falls is also experiencing a record dry stretch. Our records go back to the late 1800s in western Montana.
![Looking at precipitation totals](https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/8e51d4d/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1920x1080+0+0/resize/1280x720!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fewscripps-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F86%2F00%2Fda1a62594214aba8e089dac0e7a9%2Fcity-snow-comparison.png)
![Helena Thursday afternoon](https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/5c8328d/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1920x1080+0+0/resize/1280x720!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fewscripps-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F4a%2Feb%2F1c21bcdd47d2acd4d80b5c361509%2Fhelena-cam-without-currents.png)
See Related: What should we expect weather wise in Montana during an El Niño year?
As we march forward to the end of 2023, we're not tracking a lot of active weather to roll into Montana. Coastal storms remain ongoing, but not a lot of that activity is pushing eastward towards the Treasure State. Here and there, some shortwaves continue to break off and migrate inland, but we still are only tracking isolated, light flurries to pop up in Montana. Cloud cover will continue to oscilate - Friday will be a cloudier day in Helena while Great Falls sees partly cloudy conditions.
This mild and dry pattern is set to continue through the weekend and into early next year (week). Temperatures will drop next week though, it looks like we're going to get some low pressure back into the area and hopefully that comes with a shot of snow.
![Helena forecast](https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/85324d3/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1920x1080+0+0/resize/1280x720!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fewscripps-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F2c%2Fee%2F61b036d04947a46c346a56fed964%2F7-day-am-helena-tomorrow.png)
![Great Falls forecast](https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/868c310/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1920x1080+0+0/resize/1280x720!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fewscripps-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff0%2F05%2F17d82d7b40eb927316748ce57c3b%2F7-day-am-great-falls-auto.png)