A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect for the Big Belts, Highwoods, and Little Belts until 12am/3am Friday. Up to 3” of new snow accumulation is possible.
It has been a snowy, chilly, and breezy April day, but the weather will be getting a lot nicer as we head into tomorrow and this weekend. For this evening and tonight, we are going to have decreasing clouds from north to south with a few scattered snow showers around before midnight, generally in the mountains. Up to 3” of additional snow accumulation is possible in the mountains, while little to no additional snow accumulation is expected in the lower elevations.
It is also going to be cold tonight as lows are going to be in the teens and low 20s, and with temperatures well below freezing tonight, any lingering moisture on the roadways will freeze, which means that roads will be slippery in some areas tonight and tomorrow morning, so please use caution when driving. There may also be some areas of fog around later on tonight.
The weather will then begin to improve tomorrow as we are going to have mostly sunny skies, mainly dry conditions (just a few isolated snow showers around along the eastern half of the Hi-Line), and warmer temperatures as highs are going to be in the upper 30s and low to mid 40s in most locations. There is also going to be a bit of a breeze around tomorrow in eastern portions of north-central Montana as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph.
Spectacular spring weather is then expected this weekend as an upper-level ridge is going to be in control of our weather. This weekend, we are going to have mostly sunny skies, dry conditions, and just a little breeze as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 5 and 20 mph. The temperatures are also going to warm up a lot this weekend as highs are going to be in the 50s and low 60s on Saturday and the 60s and upper 50s on Sunday.
On Monday, we are going to have increasing clouds with a few rain showers and thunderstorms around during the afternoon/evening, especially in the higher terrain around Helena. It is also going to be breezy and mild on Monday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph, and highs are going to be in the 60s and low 70s.
We are then going to have partly to mostly sunny skies on Tuesday with a few isolated rain and mountain snow showers around Helena, generally in the higher terrain, and we are going to have partly cloudy skies with few rain and mountain snow showers around on Wednesday, generally in the higher terrain, as a couple weak disturbances impact our area. Gusty winds are also expected on these two days as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 30 mph. We are also going to continue to have pleasant temperatures on these two days as highs are going to be in the 50s and low to mid 60s in most locations, with Wednesday being the cooler day.
On Thursday, we are going to have mostly cloudy skies, dry conditions, and pleasant temperatures as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 50s and low to mid 60s in most spots.
