HELENA — Warmer than normal May temperatures across Montana spurred premature snowmelt, dropping the state’s snow reserves to “well below normal” for this time of year.

The June snowpack report released on Thursday by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service states: “Snowpack across Montana is around 50%-70% of median, well below normal for June 1. This is a drastic drop from May 1 where snowpack was largely 75%-110% of median.”

Hit hardest by the rapid melt-off was the Bitterroot and Rocky Mountain Front, where the former basin decreased 25% of median and the latter completely melted out. One exception to the melt-off was the Bighorn Mountains in southeast Montana, where snowpack is sitting at 75%-120% of the median.

“SNOTEL sites across Montana reached peak Snow Water Equivalen

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