Anyone who’s lived a reasonable number of solar orbits in Montana knows Big Sky Country is nothing if not dynamic, and 2024 in the Flathead proved no exception. On the climatic front, January delivered lows of -33 in Kalispell, while July brought three weeks of near triple-digit highs, followed by an uncharacteristically, but mercifully, cool and wet August. The remarkable atmospheric conditions even extended to the edge of space in May, with the most powerful aurora in a generation painting the sky every color of the universe. Nor could Montana shield itself against the highs and lows of the general election, which effectively spanned the entire year in our state in light of its critical senate seat up for grabs. Despite all the variability, the mushroomers harvested their morels, the carnival rides spun once again at the Northwest Montana Fair, and sunrise set the still snowy peaks of Glacier ablaze.
Sunlight filters through a foggy tree canopy over the Flathead River near Old Steel Bridge, where temperatures dropped to about -30 on Jan. 13, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconTwo Bear Air Rescue helicopter kicks up clouds of snow as it lifts off from Bassoo Peak south of Marion on Jan. 10, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconWhitefish Whiteout ski mountaineering racer Tyson Roth ascends the North Bowl at Whitefish Mountain Resort on Feb. 10, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconMark Schurke skates at Kalispell Skatepark on Feb. 23, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconMaeve Ingelfinger, three-time National Junior Cross Country Skiing Champion, pictured March 20, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconActress Lily Gladstone of the Blackfeet Nation is pictured in a standup headdress, which she received from her tribe, the Blackfeet Nation, during a ceremony in her honor in Browning on March 26, 2024. She is the first Native American to receive an Academy Award nomination for best actress. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconTraditional Finnish peat treatment and sauna at Sauna 60° in Columbia Falls on April 3, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconThe annual Whitefish Mountain Resort Pond Skim on April 6, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconFirefighters blast water onto the roof of the Quality Inn as it burns in Kalispell on April 10, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconAn exceptionally powerful aurora borealis lights up the skies over McGregor Lake near Marion on May 11, 2024. Photo by Hunter D’AntuonoDan Moe harvests morel mushrooms in the Flathead National Forest on May 11, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconA bull rider at Hell’s Half Acre Mother’s Day Rodeo on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation on May 12, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconChildren wrangle wild prairie dogs from around the arena with baling twine during the Hell’s Half Acre Mother’s Day Rodeo on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation on May 12, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconPioneering skydiver and James Bond films stuntman BJ Worth, pictured with his parachute and jumpsuit in Kalispell on May 28, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconBackside of a balsamroot blossom in Herron Park on June 6, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconA curious hoary marmot on Scenic Point in Glacier National Park on June 8, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconU.S. Senate candidate Tim Sheehy speaks at his “Save America Rally” in Kalispell on June 13, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconPaddleboarders on the Whitefish River on June 13, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconA sticky note reserves a seat for U.S. Senator Jon Tester ahead of a roundtable discussion with Flathead Valley veterans in Kalispell on June 21, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconMount Kipp, Pyramid Peak, and Cathedral Peak at sunrise as viewed from Cosley Lake in Glacier National Park on June 24, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconA pro Donald Trump presidential campaign flag hangs from a fence in the Swan Valley near Condon on July 14, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconStudent Anelisse De Avila puts together a puzzle with her teacher Elena Martinez at Glacier Montessori, a bilingual school for young children in Kalispell on July 16, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconSunset and smoke over the Bird Islands of Flathead Lake on a hot evening, July 20, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconViews of Cracker Lake from the summit of Mount Siyeh in Glacier National Park on July 28, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconJoanna Ward appears at a Regency era-themed soiree inspired by the television series “Bridgerton” at the Conrad Mansion in Kalispell on July 31, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconHemp fields near the foot of the Swan Range in the Creston area on Aug. 2, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconMontana Cup sailing races on Flathead Lake near Somers in August 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconCarnival riders share a kiss at the Northwest Montana Fair on Aug. 14, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconSword swallower Dan Meyer performs at the Northwest Montana Fair in Kalispell on Aug. 15, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconLindsey Warner models for the Style section of the Fall 2024 edition of Flathead Living Magazine in an old barn in Dayton on Aug. 21, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconFlies alight on vegetable scraps in a compost pile at Dirt Rich Compost in Columbia Falls on Sept. 3, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconAn icy cavern inside Sperry Glacier in Glacier National Park on Sept. 7, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconStanton Glacier on Great Northern Mountain and Hungry Horse Reservoir on Sept. 21, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconGunsight Lake at dawn in Glacier National Park on Sept. 29, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconQuincy Weymouth sends her ball out of the rough during the Class AA State Golf Tournament at Northern Pines Golf Club in Kalispell on Oct. 3, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconA counter protester carrying a cross stands on the periphery of the Pro Choice Pro Freedom Rally, a pro-abortion rights gathering, behind a group of attendees dressed in garb from the novel and television series adaptation “The Handmaid’s Tale” in Baker Park in Whitefish on Oct. 6, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconMorning mist hangs over Dahl Lake at the Lost Trail National Wildlife Refuge on Oct. 10, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconVoters fill out their ballots at a polling place at the Smith Valley Fire Department west of Kalispell on Nov. 5, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconU.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke delivers remarks beside his wife Lolita Hand at his Election Night Party in Whitefish on Nov. 5, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconFishermen in the fog on Flathead Lake on Nov. 9, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconSunset on snowy Mount Cannon in Glacier National Park as viewed from Lake McDonald on Dec. 1, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconSunrise over an inversion on opening day at Whitefish Mountain Resort on Dec. 5, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon
