Bits of Montana Wisdom (Part 1)

With winter gripping Montana, let us point out that the national record for cold in the lower 48 states – 70 degrees below zero – was documented right here in Montana at 2 a.m. on Jan. 20, 1954, on the west side of Roger's Pass near Helena. It's also worthwhile to mention that the chilliest time of any day is just prior to sunrise, so there's a good chance that by 6 a.m. it was significantly colder, but minus 70 was the thermometer's lowest mark. So we were close to and may have even have tied the U.S. national record of negative 80 established at Fort Yukon in Alaska.

On the flip side of the...