UPDATE: 5/6/2022
Good News! Rain, snow, water…we went from bone dry to juicy in two weeks. SW Montana snowpack close to normal…much of the state is ABOVE normal. Flows are increasing at Hebgen Dam. The Madison River is rising, and the trout are happy. Flowers are poppin’, Ennis Campground is open. Raining/snowing here in Ennis as I write this. It’s a beautiful thing!
Most of the headwaters of the Madison are looking better. The Firehole & Gibbon Rivers, Cabin and Beaver Creeks are all getting added moisture, as are major tributaries downstream: West Fork, Squaw Ck., Standard Ck., Horse Ck., Moose Ck., Wolf Ck. On my float trip the other day, there were large snowdrifts along the riverbanks below Lyons Br. leftover from the April storm.
Pics below were shot this morning at my house in Ennis. Those of us that have a long history here remember these spring storms that were common in the 1970s, 1980s. You could count on it. Hoping this is not an outlier and maybe a sign that we are coming out of the drought.
Madison County receives an average of only 15 inches of rain per year which is less than half the national average of 38 inches. We do get 60 inches of snow annually, but not much this year until the recent dumps in late April/May.
We are greening up!
