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Winter moisture: Consistently variable Continued from page 5 The records for Big Sandy, which started measuring in 1921, show 16.77 inches in 2013 with the record set in 1975 at 20.91 inches. Chester saw 17.33 inches of precipitation in 2013, with the record in 2010 at 19.22 inches. Records start there in 1900. Kremlin, which started keeping records in 1914, just missed setting a new record. The station there reported 18.14 inches of precipitation in 2013, with the record 18.91 inches in 1993. The recording stations for Rudyard, 19 miles south of town and 21 miles north, both of which started keeping records in 2000, saw in 2013 10.54 inches and 10.93 inches, respectively. The records for the north and south stations are 13.47 inches in 2010 and 25.48 inches in 2002, respectively.
Looking like a white winter — once in a while The snow has been hit-and-miss through the winter in the Golden Triangle, with some areas receiving several inches in storms that miss or just drop a dusting in other areas, and many days with no precipitation. But the level, as in the mountain snowpack, has accumulated, though nowhere near record levels. The amount of snow has varied significantly throughout the county and the region.
For Havre, the reporting station recorded 4.5 inches of snowfall for the month by Feb. 24, just short of its normal level of 5 inches. January saw 7.2 inches of snow fall at the reporting station, just over of the normal value of 7.1 inches. By Feb. 24, the Havre station reported 31.6 inches since Dec. 1 and 37.4 inches since July 1.
Precipitation continues to fall The water value of the snowfall also continues to accumulate. By Jan. 31, the Havre station reported .42 inches of precipitation since the first of the year, a little more than the normal value of .33 inches. By Feb. 24, that crept up to .66 inches of precipitation, still above the normal level of .57 inches for that date. The levels for the water year, measured from Oct. 1 through Sept. 31, are even more above normal. By Jan. 31, the Havre station saw 2.43 inches for the water year, compared to the normal level of 1.74 inches for that date.
Continued on page 8
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