Blame Montana’s Darn Cold on the Polar Vortex

Are you confused yet? Even long-time Montanans are shaking their heads at this weather week in the Treasure State as we're now seeing a more than 40-degree swing in our afternoon high temperatures, but also very cold mornings, which could lead to a hard freeze in some areas.

      And actually, it's a 60-degree swing between the highs on Tuesday afternoon and the temperatures on Friday morning.

As we told you yesterday, the combination of a cold system moving in off the Coast, combined with an unusual April surge in the polar vortex near the Canadian border, is creating conditions more typical of January than this point in the spring.

"It's a rare thing for that to happen in late April," notes National Weather Service Meteorologist Dave Noble in Missoula. "And I can only find a couple times back to the 1950s, so this is a pretty cold system, and we're really worried about possible hard freezes,"

Noble says, not only was it cold on Friday, but it won't warm up much during the daytime either. He believes the "cold highs" through the weekend could actually break records, some of which have remained for more than 60 years.

"We might be in the top 10 coldest highs with low-to-mid 40s in places. Southwest Montana could only have highs in the 30s. It could be near or even breaking some of the daily records for some of these stations."

Noble explains that the computer models don't always handle lower terrain that well, and some locations could even plunge into the mid-teens. And those cold mornings will continue through the weekend.

      And Noble says temperatures will moderate somewhat but remain colder than normal into next week, meaning people will still have to protect sensitive plants and trees.

Farewell to a food legend

An era is ending in the Mining City. After 115 years, the iconic Pekin Noodle Parlor in Butte has announced on Facebook it will close its doors.

As the oldest continuously operating Chinese restaurant in the United States, the Pekin has been a cornerstone of Montana history since 1911. The family-owned landmark survived decades of change in Uptown Butte, earning a James Beard Award along the way. Local patrons say the loss of the legendary "pork chop suey" marks the end of a deep cultural legacy.

Montana gas prices remain flat for weekend trips

Montana gas prices remain flat, or up slightly, as we close out another volatile week of fuel supplies, as the Iranian War drags on.

Triple A reports the average price in Montana for regular on Friday is nearly identical to last week, at $3.89 a gallon, up a penny from mid-week. The national average is showing $4.03, which is also a slight uptick but still 6 cents lower than a week ago.

Average diesel prices are down 4 cents a gallon from this point last week, at $4.96, but that's still far above last year's average at the end of April, which was $3.43 a gallon.

Bozeman needs a new post office

The search is on for a new home for one of Bozeman's busiest mail hubs. The United States Postal Service announced this week that the Babcock Station Post Office—currently located at 32 East Babcock Street—will have to move.

Postal officials say they were informed the building's lease will not be renewed. As a result, the USPS is scouting for a new retail space within the 59715 ZIP code. They’re specifically looking for an existing building of about 4,800 square feet with at least 44 parking spaces to accommodate both customers and employees.

The goal is to keep the new location as close as possible to the current one. In the meantime, services will continue as usual on Babcock until the new site is ready. Despite its size, Bozeman only has Babcock Station and the main post office on Baxter Lane, although there are other postal stations in the community.

     The public has 45 days to weigh in on the move. You can send your comments to the USPS relocation office in Greensboro, North Carolina.