Early season snows laid out in a band stretching from southwestern Montana north into the Big Belts and Snowy mountains brought the snowpack to normal or slightly above normal levels, which probably helped hunters get their game in those areas.

Ron Aasheim, a spokesman for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, said hunter statistics from throughout the state haven’t been compiled yet, but they’re hearing that the big game season, which ended at dusk on Sunday, was good for a lot of people.

“In general, early on folks did better ... with the weather that pushed mule deer and elk down in some areas,” Aasheim said. “But the harvest probably is off a little statewide. Weather is the determining factor, in many cases, as far as the harvest is concerned.”

Dave Barnhardt, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Great Falls, said most of Montana was fairly dry during the hunting season, with a few notable exceptions.

“It’s kind of a belt or band of snow that starts in the Dillon area and extends to Bozeman, out toward White Sulphur Springs and goes to parts of the Snowies. Then there’s a gap, and (the snow) picks up again when you get far into the northeast,” Barnhardt said. “Those areas are slightly above normal for the water year,” which began on Oct. 1.

He added that a cold front moving into Montana today should bring a bit of snow with it, but not much. Temperatures are expected to drop to normal or slightly below normal levels and stay there for the week, with a second cold front pushing into the Treasure State by the weekend.

So far this year, Helena has seen 9.94 inches of precipitation, which is nearly an inch lower than its normal 10.85 inches. Still, the total is above last year on the same date, when only 8.52 inches of precipitation fell in Helena through November.

Barnhardt said they got some calls from hunters in the past few weeks wanting to know where the snow had fallen, which makes it easier to find and track big game, and that most of the higher elevations were covered.

“The southwest mountains have about 1 to 1 1/2 feet of snow in the higher elevations; the Rocky Mountain Front, above 6,000 feet, has about 30 inches on the ground,” Barnhard said. “Above 6,000 feet near Lincoln you have at least a foot on the ground, and the Little Belts have up to 2 feet. West of the (Continental) Divide you’ve got at least a foot or more above 6,000 feet.”

But the basin averages in the Missoula and Bitterroot areas are at 50 to 75 percent of normal this year, compared to that band in the southwest and central areas of Montana, which he said are at or slightly above average.

As hunting ends for the year, Montana’s next big outdoors sport season enthusiasts also are looking for snow. Most ski resorts in Montana are eyeing opening day on Dec. 5, although some have opened earlier.

Great Divide was open for several days around Thanksgiving and is planning to have slopes open until 9 p.m. on Friday, along with music in the lodge.

Big Sky also was open on Thanksgiving, and on Friday got 4 to 6 inches of power. On Monday, 44 of the area’s 150 trails were open and seven lifts were operating. Red Lodge Mountain also is open to skiers.

Meanwhile, Janet Fadness, the office manager at Tizer Meats, said business was a little slow this year compared with other hunting seasons, but there seems to have been a successful last-minute push to bring home a deer or elk.

“Saturday, Sunday and today we’ve been swamped,” Fadness said on Monday. “Today is insanely busy.

“But compared to other years, it’s slow. A lot of people are saying they can’t find the elk, and speculate that the wolves are killing them or running them farther away from where people can get them.”

She added that more people also might be butchering their own meat because of the tight economy, so it’s hard to tell.

“We’re not getting as many donations for Food Share, so I’d guess the economy has something to do with it,” Fadness said.

Eve Byron: 447-4076 or eve.byron@helenair.com