A FLOOD WARNING is in effect for the Milk River near Nashua until 2:45pm Wednesday; for Beaver Creek near Hinsdale until 5:15am Saturday; for the Poplar River near Poplar until 10:17am Saturday; for the Milk River in Blaine County until 3:30pm Saturday; for Big Sandy Creek near Havre until 6pm Sunday; and for the Milk River around/west of Glasgow until further notice.
A FLOOD ADVISORY is in effect for a lot of the Hi-Line east of I-15 and portions of Meagher County until 6pm Wednesday/9:45am Thursday. Minor flooding due to snowmelt is currently occurring in these areas.
A FLOOD WATCH is in effect for portions of the Hi-Line and Meagher County until 6pm Wednesday. Flooding is possible in these areas due to snowmelt.
A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect for portions of southwestern, central, and north-central Montana from 6pm Wednesday until 12am Friday. 2 to 8 inches of snow accumulation is expected.
A WINTER STORM WARNING is in effect for portions of southwestern, central, and north-central Montana from 6pm Wednesday until 12am Friday. 5 to 15 inches of snow accumulation is expected, with higher amounts possible above 7500 feet.
Flooding due to snowmelt will continue to be an issue for the next several days along the Hi-Line and in portions of central Montana. Although cooler temperatures are in the forecast, it will still take some time for the water levels to recede. Also, additional precipitation in the form of rain and snow is expected later tomorrow through Thursday night, which may lead to some additional flooding as this moisture is not going to have anywhere to go in areas that have been dealing with flooding this week.
We are going to have partly cloudy skies tonight with a few widely scattered rain and snow showers around as a cold front continues to push eastward across the state. We are also going to have gusty to strong winds around this evening (gusts up to 60 mph are possible), but the wind will diminish as we go through tonight, with just a little breeze around after midnight. It is also going to be cool tonight as lows are going to be in the mid to upper 20s and low to mid 30s.
For tomorrow, we are going to have increasing clouds with developing rain and snow during the afternoon and evening in central Montana. Precipitation will then become more widespread in north-central Montana as we go through tomorrow night. The precipitation tomorrow night will start off as rain in some areas, but this rain will mix in with and switchover to snow from south to north as the night goes on. Widespread snow is then likely on Thursday, and this snow may mix in with some rain along portions of the Hi-Line at times. We are also going to have overcast skies tomorrow night and Thursday.
Snow accumulation will vary a lot with this storm system. Along the Hi-Line, a coating to 4 inches of snow accumulation is possible. In central Montana and in central/southern portions of north-central Montana, 2 to 8 inches of snow accumulation is possible in the lower elevations, and 5 to 15 inches of snow accumulation is possible in the higher elevations, with even higher amounts possible above 7500 feet. This snow will cause difficult travel conditions in some areas, so please be careful when driving and give yourself some extra time to get to where you need to go. This is also going to be a very wet snow, so it may cause power outages and it may cause some tree damage.
Colder temperatures are also expected tomorrow and Thursday as highs tomorrow are going to be in the mid to upper 40s in most locations, and highs on Thursday are going to be in the 30s in most locations. Breezy conditions are also expected on Thursday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph, and this is going to be a cold wind as it is going to be coming out of the north/northeast.
On Friday, there are going to be scattered snow and rain showers around as Thursday’s storm system leaves our area. We are also going to have decreasing clouds and slightly warmer temperatures on Friday as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 30s and low to mid 40s.
For this weekend, we are going to have mostly sunny skies and dry conditions on Saturday and partly cloudy skies and dry conditions on Sunday. The temperatures are also going to warm up a lot this weekend as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 40s and low to mid 50s on Saturday, and the mid to upper 50s and low to mid 60s on Sunday. There is also going to be a bit of a breeze around this weekend as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph.
On Monday, we are going to have mostly cloudy skies and mostly dry conditions. There are then going to be some scattered rain and mountain snow showers around on Tuesday, generally during the afternoon and evening, as another storm system begins to impact our area. The temperatures are also going to cool down some between Monday and Tuesday as highs are going to be in the low to mid 60s on Monday, and the 50s on Tuesday. Breezy conditions are also expected on these two days as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph.
