We had beautiful weather today with partly cloudy skies, little wind, and mild temperatures! Hopefully you enjoyed this nice weather as changes are coming soon.
It is going to be mild tonight as lows are going to be in the upper 30s and low to mid 40s in most locations. There is also going to be a little breeze around tonight across the plains and we are going to have increasing wind tonight along the Rocky Mountain Front. We are also going to have partly to mostly cloudy skies tonight in north-central Montana and mostly clear skies tonight around Helena.
For tomorrow, we are going to have partly to mostly cloudy skies with a few isolated rain and mountain snow showers along the Divide/Rocky Mountain Front during the morning and in central Montana during the evening. It is also going to be very windy tomorrow along the Rocky Mountain Front as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 25 and 45 mph, and it is going to be breezy tomorrow east of the Rocky Mountain Front as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph. We are also going to have a wide range of temperatures tomorrow as highs are going to range from the mid 50s to the mid 70s, with the warmest temperatures in northeastern Montana.
There are then going to be scattered rain and mountain snow showers around tomorrow night in central Montana, including around Helena and Lewistown, as an upper-level trough begins to impact our area. On Saturday, there are going to be scattered rain and mountain snow showers around the Helena area, generally during the morning, and there are going to be some scattered rain and mountain snow showers around in north-central Montana, especially during the morning and generally in southern portions of north-central Montana. Wrap-around snow will then begin to impact the Glacier County area Saturday evening. There are then going to be scattered areas of snow (and possibly graupel/rain) around Saturday night and Sunday morning and there are going to be some scattered snow/graupel/rain showers around Sunday afternoon/evening as this upper-level trough begins to leave our area. We are also going to have partly to mostly cloudy skies this weekend.
Across the plains, precipitation amounts will generally be <.25” in most locations. In central Montana, including around Helena and Lewistown, that’s where precipitation amounts will be a bit higher as .1” to .6” of precipitation is expected. In the mountains, .5” to 1.5” of precipitation is expected this weekend, with the highest amounts in the mountains in central Montana.
Some of the precipitation this weekend will fall as snow in the lower elevations, while the precipitation will mainly be in the form of snow in the mountains. In the lower elevations, light snow accumulations of up to an inch or two are possible, but most locations will receive little (a coating) to no snow accumulation. In the lower elevations near the mountains, including along Highway 87 from Belt to Lewistown, that’s where up to 5” of snow is possible. In the mountains, up to 12” of snow is possible, with some of the highest peaks possibly receiving up to 18” of snow. Travel may be difficult at times at and above mountain pass level due to low visibility and snow-covered roads, so please use extreme caution when traveling this weekend. In the lower elevations, slick roads are possible in some areas late Saturday night and Sunday morning.
The temperatures are also going to cool down a lot this weekend as highs are going to be in the 50s and low to mid 60s on Saturday and the 40s and low 50s on Sunday. We are also going to have to deal with gusty winds this weekend as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 30 mph, and wind gusts over 40 mph are possible. This is also going to be a cool breeze as the wind is going to be coming out of the west or northwest in most locations.
On Monday, we are going to have mostly sunny skies and mainly dry conditions as an upper-level ridge begins to build back into the area. Partly cloudy skies and mainly dry conditions are then expected on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday as this upper-level ridge is going to be in control of our weather. The temperatures are also going to warm back up early next week as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 50 and low 60s on Monday and the mid to upper 60s and low to mid 70s on Tuesday. These mild temperatures will then stick around for Wednesday and Thursday as highs are going to be in the 60s and low 70s in most locations. There is also going to be a breeze around from Tuesday through Thursday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph.
