Cold weather passes through county, brings fun too
Author: Eliza McLaughlin - Staff Reporter
Eliza McLaughlin - Staff Reporter Broadwater County residents and Montanans all across the state bundled up and hunkered down for a Christmas cold snap.
Temperatures started dropping below zero early Monday, Dec. 19, but remained in negative single digits through the evening.
As the clock ticked past midnight and Tuesday began, a southeastern wind rolled in and sent the temperature spiraling to -20 degrees.
The real bitter chill set in on the early hours of Wednesday, Dec. 21 as the wind continued to drop the temperature to -42 degrees hitting a low of -51 degrees.
Thursday, Dec. 22 featured some warmer weather with a high of -36 degrees with windchill.
In an effort to survive the bitter cold, many Broadwater County residents chose to stay indoors to remain warm.
“[I] kept my butt in [the] house,” Terry Newman told "MT 43 News", joined by Louann and Lowen Rogers and Robert Ross in their respective homes.
While many hunkered down, others struggled to make their way to shelter when the cold snap hit, leaving residents like Cathlene Millay to call upon the spirit of the season and show kindness one unto another.
“I observed a person who had fallen near a street corner unable to get back up on their own,” Millay said. “I helped this frozen and exhausted individual to his feet and drove him home.”
But her act of kindness didn’t stop there, it concluded with the delivery of a warm meal which she hoped would warm the man up.
For others, life continued on as normal — somewhat.
“I work for the airlines and even in those temps we go to work,” Libby Myles said. “Even though nine of our flights that day [got] canceled, we still did our best to take care of everyone’s needs.”
While the cold can be dangerous, when experienced in the right way, it can also be incredibly fun, and residents Jess Lancello and Millay found opportunities to use the cold for decorations.
Millay utilized the below freezing temperatures to create colored ice balls to line her sidewalk
“[It] was a big hit to have color in the white snow,” she said.
Meanwhile, Lancello took a more unorthodox approach to decorating with the cold by freezing t-shirts.
“We … wet them down and laid them outside on the sidewalk. Within five minutes they were able to stand on their own,” Lancello told "MT 43 News".
Broadwater County has since been blessed with thawing 40 degree weather for several days, leaving puddles and slush in almost every direction. We hope that residents everywhere were able to stay warm, find ways to have fun and will continue to do so through the rest of winter.
Article Images
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PhotoCredit: Jess Lancello.
Image 1 Caption: Frozen t-shirts stand in the snow.
