SnowfallCheck

Do you need a snowblower in Kalispell, MT?

What clears snow in Kalispell

Gas single-stage

Kalispell gets enough snow that shovelling it all is a real job, about 7.1 tons a winter on this driveway, but storms over 8 inches are uncommon.

Before you buy, check the intake height against the deepest storm above, and plan to clear before the city plow leaves its ridge of heavy slush at the end of the drive.

A normal Kalispell winter

Snow a year
54 in
Storms of 5 in or more
1.8 a winter
Storms of 10 in or more
about once every 3 winters
Days with snow on the ground
75

Heavy, more than most snowy cities. That is about 1.5 times what a typical snowy US city gets. It tends to stay, so each storm lands on the last one.

On a two car driveway that is about 7.1 tons of snow to move in a season, and a 10 inch storm weighs 2,600 pounds.

When the snow comes in Kalispell

  1. Oct1.1
  2. Nov8.0
  3. Dec15.9
  4. Jan13.9
  5. Feb8.4
  6. Mar5.4
  7. Apr1.2
  8. May0.2
  9. Jun0.3

Snow worth clearing runs from October to April, heaviest in December. Start and service a machine in September.

Towns near Kalispell

Kalispell is number 5 of 8 Montana towns here for snowfall; Bozeman gets the most at 91 inches.

TownMilesSnowTwo car, paved
Missoula, MT9450 inCordless single-stage
Sandpoint, ID10362 inGas single-stage
Hayden, ID11827 inGas single-stage
Coeur d'Alene, ID12027 inGas single-stage
Rathdrum, ID12227 inGas single-stage
Post Falls, ID12627 inGas single-stage

Where these numbers come from

Read next: Snowblowers on a gravel driveway and Single-stage or two-stage.

NOAA 1991 to 2020 climate normals from Kalispell Glacier Airport, 6.8 miles from Kalispell. A normal winter, not this winter's forecast. Snow is weighed at 6.24 pounds a cubic foot, fresh and fairly dry; wet spring snow can weigh three times that.