Montana Snowpack Building After Dry Spell, But Drought Still A Factor Meteorologists last fall said Montana could be in store for a particularly cold and snowy La Niña winter. By late October, cold temperatures and record snowfall shattered regional records — but that wintery weather quickly gave way to much drier and mild conditions. So what has happened to our winter, and what’s next? Montana Farmers Union President Walter Schweitzer remembers that cold and snowy October weather. “Forced us to start feeding the cows a little earlier than we wanted," he said. Schweitzer raises cattle and runs a haying operation southeast of Great Falls near Geyser. He said November ushered in significant changes.