7 Things Montanans Do When It's 30 Below That Out-of-Staters Can't Believe

At 30 below, recess in Helena moves indoors.

Montanans adjust their whole day for cold like that, and out-of-staters can’t believe it.

Here’s what Montanans do when it’s 30 below that out-of-staters can’t believe.

1. Running a Block Heater

At 30 below, you plug in your block heater before you try to start the car.

Montana State University (MSU) Extension passes along advice to plug in once the temperature drops below zero because cold thickens your oil and can add friction inside the engine.

Many vehicles purchased in Montana come fitted with a block heater.

Plan on two to four hours of plug-in time before you drive.

2. Moving Recess Indoors

If your kids go to school in Helena, recess at 30 below happens indoors.

Helena Public Schools’ cold-weather protocol sets the cutoff at zero.

On mornings when the temperature or wind chill sits below zero at a school, students come inside as soon as the buildings open.

You’re asked to keep your kids from walking to or from school when it’s below zero.

Bus riders are kept inside until their bus is in place.

In Alaska, the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District cancels outdoor recess only when the temperature reaches 20 below.

That’s a 20-degree gap.

3. Canceling Classes

Several schools across southeast Montana canceled class in December 2022 because of extreme cold.

The Billings superintendent at the time described forecasts of 25 to 30 below, with wind chills nearing 50 below.

Buses were part of the worry, and he said fuel gels in the district’s buses as temperatures approach 30 below.

In Columbus, Montana, the school district didn’t run its buses.

The transportation director said a bus run off the road would leave kids sitting in extremely cold temperatures.

In January 2024, Lewistown Public Schools and the Power school district both called off Friday classes because of the cold.

Forecasts that week called for air temperatures of 40 below in some areas.

Psst! How ready are you for a deep freeze? Run through this checklist and see where you stand.

4. Switching to Sand

The Montana Department of Transportation says that in extended below-zero cold snaps, sand with a plow and a trained operator may be the only tool left.

In a long cold snap, you may find sand under your tires instead of treated pavement.

Unlike road chemicals, sand doesn’t lose performance as the temperature drops.

Where Road Chemicals Lose Their Edge

Road chemicals have a minimum effective pavement temperature, and a 30-below cold snap can leave the road surface under it.

The effective working temperature for magnesium chloride is above 10 degrees.

For sodium chloride, it is above 15 degrees.

Both numbers describe the road surface, not the air temperature on your thermometer.

5. Extra Feed for Cattle

A ranch near Four Corners was feeding cattle hay and protein tubs in December 2022 as snow and cold hit, to build the animals up before calving.

Beef cattle grow a heavy winter coat that protects them down to 18 degrees, according to MSU Extension.

At 30 below, they’re 48 degrees past that line.

Wind makes it worse, since animals with no shelter from wind or wet can need up to 30% more feed each day than animals with shelter.

If you run cattle, warm their water to at least 37 degrees if possible.

Breaking ice on a pond or creek once or twice a day may not be enough.

Another rule of thumb is that energy needs rise about 1% for every degree below 32.

6. Round-the-Clock Warming Centers

The Flathead Warming Center, which then typically opened from 6 p.m. to 10 a.m., went to 24 hours a day on Wednesday and Thursday in December 2022.

Forecasts that week called for lows of 30 to 40 below across the state.

With wind chills possibly below 50 below, you can get frostbite on exposed skin in as little as five minutes.

The shelter’s 50 beds had been full for weeks.

Even so, its executive director said staff would do their best not to turn people away without a bed.

The center handed out coats and sleeping bags with below-zero ratings.

The Human Resources Development Council also stayed open 24 hours a day in Bozeman and Livingston, switching on its Code Blue policy.

At the time, Code Blue took effect when high temperatures, including wind chill, were 10 degrees or lower.

7. Helena’s Indoor Memorial

Helena’s annual memorial for people who died without housing was usually held outdoors.

In December 2022, it moved inside the state Capitol rotunda as the temperature dropped to 29 below.

If you’ve ever stood outdoors in that cold, you understand the move.

YWCA Helena led the ceremony, and Helena’s symphony orchestra played.

The Whitefish Ski Shutdown

Whitefish Mountain Resort shut down all skiing by 1 p.m. on Jan. 11, 2024, citing extreme wind and cold.

By late morning, wind chill had reached below 50 below, and the resort couldn’t responsibly keep the upper mountain open.

At 4 p.m. that day, you’d have found 22 below at the summit, with gusts up to 37 mph.

That reading is milder than 30 below, but the resort had reported wind chill below 50 below that morning.

The resort said all lifts and terrain would stay closed the next day, Friday, Jan. 12. The forecast called for a summit high of 27 below, with wind chill as low as 71 below.