A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect for northwestern Montana, the Hi-Line in north-central Montana, the Rocky Mountain Front and adjacent plains, and the Highwoods/Little Belts from Wednesday night/Thursday morning through Thursday evening/night.
There are going to be some scattered snow/graupel/rain showers around this evening and early tonight. Snow will then become steadier and more widespread along and just south of the Hi-Line during the second half of the night as a cold front begins to approach our area.
Snow is then likely tomorrow in north-central Montana, with the snow shifting southeastward as the day goes on and tapering off to snow showers later in the day. Around Helena, the snow will begin to develop during the late morning tomorrow and will become more widespread during the afternoon/evening.
A little rain/graupel is also possible with the onset of precipitation tomorrow, but the bulk of the precipitation that falls tomorrow will be in the form of snow. Lingering snow showers will then taper off as we go through tomorrow night as this cold front leaves our area.
In the lower elevations, up to 5” of snow is possible through tomorrow night, with the highest snow amounts along the Hi-Line. In the mountains, along the Rocky Mountain Front, and in the adjacent plains next to the Rocky Mountain Front, up to 8” of snow is possible through tomorrow night.
This snow will cause the roads to be slick/slushy at times tonight and tomorrow, so please use caution when driving and give yourself some extra time to get to where you need to go. The worst road conditions for the morning commute tomorrow will be along and just south of the Hi-Line. Areas of reduced visibility are also expected tonight and tomorrow due to this snow.
We are also going to have partly to mostly cloudy skies tonight, mostly cloudy to overcast skies tomorrow, and decreasing clouds with some fog tomorrow night. It is also going to be chilly tonight and tomorrow as lows tonight are going to be in the 20s in most locations and highs tomorrow are going to be in the 30s and low 40s in most locations. Tomorrow is also going to be the coldest day of the next week. There is also going to be a breeze around for a period of time tomorrow with the passage of the cold front as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph, and gusts up to 35 mph are possible.
Nicer weather is then expected on Friday as we are going to have mostly sunny skies, mostly dry conditions (just a couple isolated snow showers around), and little to no wind. There may also be some areas of fog around Friday morning. It is also going to be cool on Friday as highs are going to be in the upper 30s and low to mid 40s in most locations.
Gorgeous 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 on Saturday and the upper 50s and low to mid 60s on Sunday.
On Monday, we are going to have partly to mostly sunny skies with a few PM rain and mountain snow showers around, especially in the higher terrain, as a disturbance begins to approach our area. 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 snow showers around Helena, generally in the mountains, and we are going to have partly cloudy skies with a slight chance of rain and mountain snow showers on Wednesday 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 mid to upper 50s and low to mid 60s in most locations.
