What to Expect From a Season of Snow Service in Western Montana

How much snow should you plan for each month?

Plan around the averages, then expect any one winter to differ. The Western Regional Climate Center's period-of-record table for Missoula's airport station (1948 to 2012) shows average snowfall of 0.7 inches in October, 5.7 in November, 10.7 in December, 12.3 in January, 7.4 in February, 6.1 in March, 1.8 in April and 0.6 in May, for 45.3 inches a year. Its table for Hamilton (1895 to 2012) shows 0.3, 3.4, 5.2, 7.4, 5.2, 3.9, 0.7 and 0.3 for the same months, for 26.3 inches a year.

Those are long-term averages, and they end in 2012, so treat them as a shape rather than a forecast. They do show that a season here can run from October into May, with December and January the heaviest months at both stations. Our page on how much snow Missoula and the Bitterroot get goes further, and this article is part of our Montana Winter Property Guide.

What happens before the first snow?

The work that decides your winter happens in September and October. A good contractor walks the property with you and settles the trigger depth, the clearing order, where the snow will go and which surfaces are included. On our residential accounts, this is when we talk about what is hidden under the snow: irrigation heads, lighting, bed edges and the line of a gravel drive.

Your jobs at this stage are simple. Sign the agreement, put in snow stakes and markers, have your sprinkler system blown out, and make a list of anything that changes week to week, such as where a vehicle gets parked or who has the gate code. It also helps to clear hoses, toys and anything else a plow could find under a foot of snow. Our winter property prep checklist has the rest.

What is the first storm usually like?

Early storms are often the messiest, not the biggest. With an average of about 6 inches at Missoula and about 3 at Hamilton in November, an early snow may be wet and may melt within days. Soft, unfrozen ground is at its most vulnerable, so gravel gets the most conservative treatment early in the season. Our guide to plowing a gravel driveway explains why the surface may look less clean than you expected, and why that is intentional.

Expect a little settling in, too. The first run is when an operator learns the real turning room and finds any spot that was not flagged. Tell your contractor right away if something looks off. A quick photo and a note after the first visit can correct the route for the rest of the winter.

Why does the plow come at different times?

Timing depends on when the snow falls, when it stops and the order of the route. A storm ending at 3 a.m. is a different job from one that starts at 7 a.m. and continues through the morning. A route is a sequence, so your slot usually stays similar, but a heavy storm slows every stop ahead of yours. On a long storm, some contractors will open the drive partway through and return to clean it up, and it should be clear in your agreement how this works. Our guide to snow service response times explains what is realistic.

If you need to leave at a particular hour, say so when the account is set up, not during a storm. We would rather tell you honestly in October whether we can commit to it. Commercial sites have the extra pressure of an opening time, which is why they are organized differently, as we explain under commercial snow removal.

Why does the berm come back after the driveway is cleared?

Because the road plow runs on its own schedule. Missoula County says its crews begin plowing roads outside city limits between 5 and 6 a.m. on weekdays following a storm, starting with priority 1 routes such as bus routes, school areas, high-traffic roads and roads with hills or curves. Some major roads are not the county's at all, since the state maintains roads such as US 93. So your side road may be plowed hours after your driveway was cleared, leaving a dense ridge across the entrance.

Town rules can put that berm on you. The Town of Stevensville says individuals are required to remove berms from driveways, mailboxes and cars, and to keep shoveled or plowed snow on their own property, not in the street. Clearing the entrance is part of what we do on a residential account, but nobody controls the road plow's timing. If it passes after our visit, the berm is there until the next one. If it is a recurring problem, talk to your contractor about route timing.

What do mid-winter months look like?

January is usually the routine part of the season, with the largest average totals at both stations. Storage space starts to become the issue, as piles from December get taller and plow runs get narrower. Tell your contractor if your sightline at the road starts to shrink. Moving snow further back early beats fighting it later.

Cold changes the job as well. Snow that melts on a sunny afternoon and refreezes overnight forms ice in the same places each time: the bottom of a slope, a shaded corner, the walk under a roof edge. Expect your contractor to focus on those spots, not the whole surface. Our guides on black ice on driveways and walks and freeze-thaw cycles explain why these spots recur, and ice melt for Montana driveways covers the products. In a windy stretch, a drive across open ground can close after it has been cleared, which is a separate problem covered in drifting snow on rural drives.

What about big storms and emergencies?

Bigger storms mean multiple passes, longer waits and sometimes other kinds of damage, such as limbs across the drive. Our 24-hour storm services cover events outside the normal cycle, and since we are also a tree company, a fallen limb is something we can deal with too. Your part is to stay flexible, keep vehicles off the plow path if you can, and tell your contractor about anything urgent such as a medical need.

Keep an eye on the forecast language as well. Our explainer on winter weather advisories and warnings sets out what each alert means, and winter storm types in western Montana describes how these storms arrive.

What do you still have to do yourself?

Even with a full service, a few things stay with you. In the city of Missoula, property owners are responsible for clearing adjacent sidewalks of snow and ice within 24 hours after a snowfall, and the city says not to shovel into the street or bury hydrants. If your contract does not include the public sidewalk, that job is still yours, as we explain in Missoula sidewalk rules. Rental agreements may shift the task to a tenant, so check yours.

Move vehicles if your agreement asks you to, tell your contractor when you will be away, and keep your stakes standing. Salt or other products you put down yourself may also matter: the city advises against using de-icers on new sidewalks for two years after installation, and our guides to new concrete and de-icers and pet-safe ice melt explain why this is worth checking.

What if it is a light winter?

Light winters happen, and they change the feel of an agreement more than the plan. If you are on a seasonal rate, you may pay for visits you did not need. On per-visit pricing, you pay less, but route customers come first if a big storm does arrive. Neither is wrong. The tradeoffs are in seasonal contract, per-push or hourly and snow contracts in low-snow winters, and what a low-snow winter means for trees, lawns and pipes covers the rest of the property.

When does the season actually end?

Later than most people expect. The averages show snow in March at both stations and some into April and May, particularly at Missoula. So your stakes should stay up until your contractor says otherwise. Check your agreement's end date and how a late storm is handled.

When the piles melt, walk the property. Look at lawn edges, gravel at the shoulders of the drive, sprinkler heads, low fencing and shrubs near storage areas. Report anything from the plow while it is still fresh, and see yard cleanup after the snow melts and snow damage to fences and patios for what to do next. We also handle spring and fall cleanups if you would like one company on it.

How do you get set up for this winter?

Call sooner rather than later, because routes fill up. If you are choosing between companies, how to choose a snow removal company has the questions to ask. To get on our route, call (406) 215-7319 or request a free estimate.

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