Following several abnormally warm and dry months throughout the water year – which runs from Oct. 1 through Sept. 30 – northwest Montana saw a below-normal seasonal water supply, according to National Weather Service hydrologist LeeAnn Allegretto.

While some months throughout the water supply year were cooler and wetter than average, which included July and August, Allegretto said the moisture was not enough to make up for the spring when the entire Columbia River basin lost most of its snowpack rapidly.

“April and May are crucial months for water supply, and we just didn’t hit the mark for precipitation in these months,” Allegretto said in a water year wrap-up presentation.

In early June, the middle and north forks of the Flathead River’s snow water equivalent (SWE) levels were hoverin

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