Northern Rockies Flying Weather
MT · WY · ID · 2006–2025 · 39 eligible airports
Summers are predominantly VFR with rapidly building afternoon thunderstorms anchored to terrain, while winters bring prolonged IFR in mountain valleys from snow, stratus, and persistent inversion fog at airports like Missoula and Kalispell. Strong westerlies produce severe mountain-wave turbulence and icing over the divides, and Chinook events generate extreme surface gusts along the east slopes and adjacent plains. Density altitude is a major warm-season hazard at high-elevation fields such as Jackson Hole and Sun Valley. Mid-summer through early fall is the best flying season; mid-winter valley-inversion episodes and spring frontal cycles are the worst.
- Daylight VFR
- 87.8%
- VFR days/yr
- 302
- Mean wind
- 7.6 kt
- Most VFR month
- July
- Fewest VFR month
- December
- VFR Score
- 69
Regional standouts
VFR conditions by month
Regional average across eligible airports
| Month | VFR % |
|---|---|
| Jan | 83.0% |
| Feb | 82.3% |
| Mar | 85.9% |
| Apr | 87.5% |
| May | 89.9% |
| Jun | 96.2% |
| Jul | 98.2% |
| Aug | 93.8% |
| Sep | 91.1% |
| Oct | 90.1% |
| Nov | 85.5% |
| Dec | 80.7% |
Average wind by month
Regional average sustained wind
| Month | Mean wind (kt) |
|---|---|
| Jan | 7.7 kt |
| Feb | 8.1 kt |
| Mar | 8.1 kt |
| Apr | 8.6 kt |
| May | 8.0 kt |
| Jun | 7.6 kt |
| Jul | 6.8 kt |
| Aug | 6.7 kt |
| Sep | 6.8 kt |
| Oct | 7.4 kt |
| Nov | 7.7 kt |
| Dec | 7.7 kt |
Every airport in Northern Rockies, ranked
Sort by any column. Best VFR Score first.
| KJDNJordan Airport | Jordan | 0.0 | 100.0 | null | 6 kt | 44 |
| KBHKBaker Municipal Airport | Baker | 82.8 | 8.5 | 276 | 9 kt | 52 |
| KDIJDriggs/Reed Memorial Airport | Driggs | 84.3 | 6.0 | 269 | 5 kt | 56 |
| KMYLMcCall Municipal Airport | McCall | 81.7 | 9.3 | 262 | 3 kt | 58 |
| KGGWGlasgow Valley County Airport Wokal Field | Glasgow | 86.5 | 5.3 | 285 | 8 kt | 60 |
| KGDVDawson Community Airport | Glendive | 85.8 | 5.0 | 288 | 8 kt | 61 |
| KJACJackson Hole Airport | Jackson | 86.7 | 5.7 | 265 | 5 kt | 61 |
| KSDYSidney - Richland Regional Airport | Sidney | 85.4 | 4.3 | 286 | 7 kt | 61 |
| KGCCNortheast Wyoming Regional Airport | Gillette | 87.2 | 5.7 | 294 | 9 kt | 62 |
| KOLFL M Clayton Airport | Wolf Point | 86.2 | 4.9 | 287 | 6 kt | 63 |
| KMLSMiles City Airport - Frank Wiley Field | Miles City | 88.0 | 4.4 | 296 | 7 kt | 63 |
| KEVWEvanston-Uinta County Airport-Burns Field | Evanston | 88.5 | 5.7 | 289 | 8 kt | 64 |
| KCTBCut Bank International Airport | Cut Bank | 87.6 | 6.3 | 296 | 9 kt | 64 |
| KAFOAfton Municipal Airport | Afton | 85.3 | 5.2 | 283 | 3 kt | 65 |
| KGPIGlacier Park International Airport | Kalispell | 85.8 | 7.4 | 288 | 4 kt | 66 |
| KGTFGreat Falls International Airport | Great Falls | 88.7 | 5.9 | 305 | 9 kt | 66 |
| KHVRHavre City County Airport | Havre | 88.8 | 4.5 | 298 | 8 kt | 67 |
| KRWLRawlins Municipal Airport/Harvey Field | Rawlins | 90.4 | 3.7 | 297 | 10 kt | 67 |
| KLVMMission Field | Livingston | 89.9 | 4.4 | 309 | 11 kt | 67 |
| KDGWConverse County Airport | Douglas | 88.9 | 4.7 | 308 | 7 kt | 68 |
| KCPRCasper-Natrona County International Airport | Casper | 89.5 | 4.7 | 314 | 9 kt | 68 |
| KDUBDubois Municipal Airport | Dubois | 91.2 | 3.7 | 305 | 10 kt | 70 |
| KBILBillings Logan International Airport | Billings | 90.7 | 4.7 | 318 | 8 kt | 70 |
| KPOYPowell Municipal Airport | Powell | 91.5 | 5.7 | 320 | 9 kt | 71 |
| KLARLaramie Regional Airport | Laramie | 91.7 | 4.0 | 316 | 9 kt | 71 |
| KDWXDixon Airport | Dixon | 91.5 | 3.1 | 306 | 6 kt | 72 |
| KRKSSouthwest Wyoming Regional Airport | Rock Springs | 92.2 | 3.3 | 307 | 9 kt | 72 |
| KMSOMissoula Montana Airport | Missoula | 89.8 | 4.7 | 298 | 3 kt | 74 |
| KPNARalph Wenz Field | Pinedale | 92.2 | 3.4 | 312 | 5 kt | 75 |
| KCODYellowstone Regional Airport | Cody | 91.4 | 2.9 | 313 | 6 kt | 76 |
| KBTMBert Mooney Airport | Butte | 91.2 | 3.3 | 310 | 4 kt | 77 |
| KDLNDillon Airport | Dillon | 93.7 | 2.3 | 324 | 7 kt | 78 |
| KHLNHelena Regional Airport | Helena | 92.3 | 2.5 | 317 | 5 kt | 79 |
| KLNDHunt Field | Lander | 92.0 | 3.6 | 322 | 5 kt | 79 |
| KRIWCentral Wyoming Regional Airport | Riverton | 93.3 | 3.1 | 323 | 6 kt | 79 |
| KBPIMiley Memorial Field | Big Piney | 94.0 | 3.3 | 325 | 5 kt | 82 |
| KWRLWorland Municipal Airport | Worland | 93.4 | 2.4 | 326 | 4 kt | 83 |
| KGEYSouth Big Horn County Airport | Greybull | 94.6 | 2.2 | 324 | 4 kt | 84 |
| KLLJChallis Airport | Challis | 95.7 | 1.6 | 324 | 3 kt | 89 |
The pattern in Northern Rockies
Across 2006–2025, the 39 eligible airports in Northern Rockies reported VFR conditions during about 87.8% of valid daytime observations, with an estimated 302 VFR flying days per year and a mean surface wind of 7.6 kt. KLLJ (Challis Airport) had the most VFR weather at 96.1%. KJDN saw the most instrument conditions, at 100.0% IFR/LIFR. The lowest-ranked eligible field by VFR Score was KJDN (Jordan Airport).
Neighboring regions
How Northern Rockies is defined
MT: all counties (including the eastern Montana high plains, since northern-plains is ND/SD/MN/n-WI only). WY: all counties EXCEPT Laramie, Platte, and Goshen, which belong to front-range (Cheyenne upslope corridor). ID: only these 10 central-mountain counties — Adams, Valley, Boise, Custer, Lemhi, Blaine, Camas, Clark, Fremont, Teton; the 10 panhandle counties belong to inland-northwest and the remaining 24 Snake River Plain / southeast counties belong to great-basin.
Educational use only. Historical weather rankings from ATIS Alerts are educational summaries of past observations — not a forecast, flight-planning tool, or safety rating. They do not replace current METARs, TAFs, NOTAMs, ATIS, or a weather briefing, and favorable history does not make any airport safe. Always check current conditions and use your own judgment before flight.