Do you need a snowblower in Missoula, MT?
What clears snow in Missoula
Cordless single-stage
Plenty falls in Missoula, about 6.5 tons a winter on this driveway, but it comes in shallow storms a small cordless machine can take in.
Before you buy, check the battery is rated to clear the whole driveway in one charge in the cold, or get a second battery. Batteries lose range below freezing.
How much snow Missoula gets
- Snow a year
- 50 in
- Storms of 5 in or more
- 1.2 a winter
- Storms of 10 in or more
- almost never
- Days with snow on the ground
- 70
Heavy, more than most snowy cities. That is about 1.4 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 6.5 tons of snow to move in a season, and a 10 inch storm weighs 2,600 pounds.
When the snow comes in Missoula
- Oct0.7
- Nov6.9
- Dec12.9
- Jan12.5
- Feb7.9
- Mar7.4
- Apr1.4
- May0.3
- Jun0.2
Snow worth clearing runs from November to April, heaviest in December. Start and service a machine in October.
Missoula and its neighbours
Missoula is number 6 of 8 Montana towns here for snowfall; Bozeman gets the most at 91 inches.
| Town | Miles | Snow | Two car, paved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kalispell, MT | 94 | 54 in | Gas single-stage |
| Butte-Silver Bow, MT | 94 | 15 in | A shovel is enough |
| Helena, MT | 97 | 37 in | Cordless single-stage |
| Great Falls, MT | 135 | 66 in | Two-stage snowblower |
| Moscow, ID | 141 | 51 in | Gas single-stage |
| Coeur d'Alene, ID | 142 | 27 in | Gas 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 Missoula 2 NE, 3.2 miles from Missoula. 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.