When’s The Perfect Time To Turn On The AC Here In Montana?

I think that we can all agree that after what seemed like a 2-year winter, we're all glad to see green grass again.  And while winter really wasn't 2 years, it was several months and a lot of cold and snow, so you would think that we would welcome the recent warm temperatures right?

Well, for some of us, it became a little too hot a little too quickly.

Personally, I'm a fan of all four seasons.  I enjoy the beautiful snow in the winter, the flowers blooming in spring, the chances to hit the lakes and rivers in summer, and the changing of the leaves in the fall.  So, when Mother Nature decides to just completely skip a season, it leaves some of us scratching our heads.

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It seems that a week or so ago we still had snow on the ground and then all of a sudden, we decided that we wouldn't do spring this year and went straight into summer.  There were a few areas across Montana that saw record highs, in fact, Missoula hit 90 one day.

I completely understand that many of us love the heat and saw the latest heatwave as a gift from the weather Gods, but for some of us, it meant turning on the air conditioner.

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of sweating, so my idea of the perfect temperature might be different than yours, but anything over 78 degrees and the AC is going on at the house. Maybe it's the fact that I've lived in the northern part of the country for so long, but having grown up in the south and married to a woman who grew up in Texas, neither of us is a fan of the heat anymore.

So what do other Montanans have to say about this?  At what temperature do they say it's time to turn on the AC?

It seems that for most Montanans, the magic number is between 80 to 90 degrees, although there are folks that turn it on as soon as it hits the lower 70s.  That's for the home, as far as our vehicles go, we're a little quicker to turn on the ac.  I'm guessing that has something to do with the fact that it isn't nearly as expensive to cool your car as it is to cool your house.

For those that don't have a home AC unit, or if you just don't want to pay a higher utility bill, I suggest a fan or two on these hot Montana days.

Whichever method you choose, stay cool out there.