Those who have spent a considerable amount of solar cycles in Montana understand that Big Sky Country is anything but static, and 2024 in the Flathead was no different. Climatically, January presented lows of -33 in Kalispell, while July ushered in three weeks of temperatures near triple digits, which was succeeded by an unusually, yet thankfully, cool and moist August. These incredible atmospheric phenomena even reached the fringes of space in May, showcasing the most intense aurora in a generation illuminating the sky in every hue of the cosmos. Montana was also not insulated from the ups and downs of the general election, which effectively spanned the entire year in our region due to its pivotal senate seat that was contested. Regardless of the fluctuations, mushroom foragers gathered their morels, fairground rides twirled once more at the Northwest Montana Fair, and the break of dawn ignited the still snow-covered peaks of Glacier.
Sunlight streams through a misty tree canopy over the Flathead River near Old Steel Bridge, where temperatures plummeted to approximately -30 on Jan. 13, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconTwo Bear Air Rescue helicopter stirs up clouds of snow as it departs from Bassoo Peak south of Marion on Jan. 10, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconSki mountaineer Tyson Roth competes in the Whitefish Whiteout at Whitefish Mountain Resort on Feb. 10, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconMark Schurke performs tricks at Kalispell Skatepark on Feb. 23, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconMaeve Ingelfinger, a three-time National Junior Cross Country Skiing Champion, is featured on March 20, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconLily Gladstone, an actress from the Blackfeet Nation, is seen wearing a ceremonial headdress, which she was given by her tribe during a ceremony in her honor in Browning on March 26, 2024. She made history as the first Native American to receive an Academy Award nomination for best actress. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconClassic Finnish peat therapy and sauna at Sauna 60° in Columbia Falls on April 3, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconThe yearly Pond Skim at Whitefish Mountain Resort on April 6, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconFirefighters direct water onto the roof of the Quality Inn while it is ablaze in Kalispell on April 10, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconA remarkably vibrant aurora borealis illuminates the skies above McGregor Lake close to Marion on May 11, 2024. Photo by Hunter D’AntuonoDan Moe gathers morel mushrooms in the Flathead National Forest on May 11, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconA bull rider at the Hell’s Half Acre Mother’s Day Rodeo located on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation on May 12, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconKids manage wild prairie dogs with baling twine around the arena during the Hell’s Half Acre Mother’s Day Rodeo on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation on May 12, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon
“`html Innovative skydiver and stunt performer for James Bond films, BJ Worth, captured with his parachute and jumpsuit in Kalispell on May 28, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconReverse side of a balsamroot flower in Herron Park on June 6, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconA curious hoary marmot on Scenic Point within Glacier National Park on June 8, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconU.S. Senate hopeful Tim Sheehy addresses attendees at his “Save America Rally” in Kalispell on June 13, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconPaddleboard enthusiasts on the Whitefish River on June 13, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconA sticky note marking a seat for U.S. Senator Jon Tester prior to a roundtable conversation with veterans from Flathead Valley in Kalispell on June 21, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconMount Kipp, Pyramid Peak, and Cathedral Peak at dawn as seen from Cosley Lake in Glacier National Park on June 24, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon
“““html A pro Donald Trump presidential campaign banner is displayed on a fence in the Swan Valley near Condon on July 14, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconLearner Anelisse De Avila assembles a puzzle alongside her instructor Elena Martinez at Glacier Montessori, a bilingual institution for young learners in Kalispell on July 16, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconTwilight and haze envelop the Bird Islands of Flathead Lake on a warm evening, July 20, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconPerspectives of Cracker Lake from the peak of Mount Siyeh in Glacier National Park on July 28, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconJoanna Ward attends a Regency era-themed gathering inspired by the series “Bridgerton” at the Conrad Mansion in Kalispell on July 31, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconHemp cultivation close to the base of the Swan Range in the Creston region on Aug. 2, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconMontana Cup sailing events taking place on Flathead Lake near Somers in August 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconCarnival
“`riders exchange 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 showcases for the Style section of the Fall 2024 edition of Flathead Living Magazine in an antique barn in Dayton on Aug. 21, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconInsects settle on vegetable remnants in a compost heap at Dirt Rich Compost in Columbia Falls on Sept. 3, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconA frozen cavern within Sperry Glacier in Glacier National Park on Sept. 7, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconStanton Glacier on Great Northern Mountain alongside Hungry Horse Reservoir on Sept. 21, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconGunsight Lake at sunrise in Glacier National Park on Sept. 29, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconQuincy Weymouth drives her ball out of the rough during the Class AA State Golf Championship at Northern Pines Golf Club in Kalispell on Oct. 3, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon
A counter demonstrator holding a cross stands on the edge of the Pro Choice Pro Freedom Rally, a pro-abortion rights event, situated behind a collection of participants clad in attire inspired by the novel and television adaptation “The Handmaid’s Tale” at Baker Park in Whitefish on Oct. 6, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconMorning haze lingers above Dahl Lake at the Lost Trail National Wildlife Refuge on Oct. 10, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconElectors complete their ballots at a voting location at the Smith Valley Fire Department to the west of Kalispell on Nov. 5, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconU.S. Congressman Ryan Zinke provides comments alongside his spouse Lolita Hand at his Election Night Gathering in Whitefish on Nov. 5, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconAnglers shrouded in mist on Flathead Lake on Nov. 9, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconTwilight over the icy Mount Cannon in Glacier National Park as seen from Lake McDonald on Dec. 1, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconDawn over a thermal inversion on the inaugural day at Whitefish Mountain Resort on Dec. 5, 2024. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon
