Like Wild Montana Weather? This Spring Will Disappoint You

If you've been enjoying the on-again, off-again spring we've been seeing so far in Montana this month, the long-range forecast from the National Weather Service says we're in for more variety.

Just don't expect the coming weeks to swing strongly one way or the other.

That's actually what we could use, coming out of a winter that's only leaving behind average snowpack in all but the ranges of Central Montana.

RELATED: Did a Weak La Nina Ruin Montana's Winter

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Montana weather looks pretty normal

The latest Seasonal Outlook from the experts at NOAA's Climate Prediction Center shows what looks to be a very warm and dry stretch through spring and early summer for the Great Basin and Southwest states.

But Montana and the rest of the Northern Rockies are showing "equal chances" for above- or below normal temperatures. The same applies to the precipitation outlook. Although the edge of Southwest Montana has a 40%-to-50% chance of seeing "below normal" rain.

That matches up with the switch starting to take place in the weather, generating ocean currents in the Pacific from the "weak La Niña" of the past few months to "neutral", when there is little influence on weather in the Northern Rockies.

Not much help with ongoing drought

Unfortunately, that's going to be of much help for continuing drought conditions in parts of Western Montana east to the Rocky Mountain Front.

The U.S. Drought Monitor shows the ongoing drought in the Blackfoot Basin, which didn't improve much through the winter and is still listed at "D3", which is "Extreme Drought." That's not good news for ranchers and residents who had been hoping for improvement.

All of Northwest Montana remains "abnormally dry", while other areas like Missoula, Ravalli, Granite, and Powell counties continue to show conditions ranging from "moderate" to "severe" drought.