Water year: in a desert?

Thursday night marked the end of the water year here. Nov. 1, 2012 to Oct. 31, 2013 was fairly quiet, but had some notable distinctions. Unfortunately, this weather season saw the demise of both my rain gauge and my max/min thermometer, so some of the figures here are estimates, though I did compare them against NWS MSO data and found mostly strong correlations.

• This year again there were no days where the temperature went below 0.
• Summer was warm and dry, while the fall of 2013 (so far) was cool and quite dry.
• Rain fell on at least one day during every month of the year; snow fell during six months.

The most interesting figure, I think, is the total precipitation when compared against the number of days that saw precipitation. The observation period saw 9.84 inches of total precipitation (a desert, indeed!) though precipitation of one form or another fell on a surprising 136 out of the last 365 days. Yes, a lot of those days saw just a trace. Here’s the rest:

• Number of days with .01-.09 inches of rain: 50
• Number of days with .1-.99 inches of rain: 19
• Number of days with 1.00+ inches of rain: 0
• Number of days with a trace-.9 inches of snow: 61
• Number of days with 1-5.9 inches of snow: 6
• Number of days with 6+ inches of snow: 3
• Number of days with freezing rain: 2
• Number of days with blizzard conditions: 0
• Number of days with both rain and snow falling: 12
• Total rainfall: 6.49 inches
• Total snowfall: 43.6 inches
• Snow water equivalent: 3.35 inches
• Average snow density: 7.6%
• Last freeze: May 25
• First frost: September 20
• Growing season: 117 days

If the figures above seem unlikely, that’s because most of the low-precip days were just a trace of snow or .01 inches of rain. The large number of days with precip but the low total precip is largely a function of the orientation of the Missoula Valley and the fact that the valley is shadowed from the biggest, wettest storms.

Here’s a picture of a boy at his recent baptism:

And hiking with the baby:

Day of the Dead

This was the fourth year in a row we went to this event, which starts downtown at the Xs and ends at Caras Park. And even after four years I feel that this event is not just the best spectacle in Missoula, but the best event I have been to at any time anywhere in the world. The parade and subsequent dance are equal parts Sidewalk Dixieland Quartet, Southern Death Cult Big Tent Church Revival, and Zombie Homecoming Parade. Pictures don’t really do it justice.

Best of Zim gospel right here: