A WINTER STORM WARNING is in effect for several of the mountain ranges in central, southwestern, and south-central Montana until 12pm/6pm Thursday or 12am/6am Friday.
A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect for some of the lower elevations in southwestern and central Montana from 12am until 6pm Thursday.
A FLOOD WATCH is in effect for the Highwood and Little Belt mountains until 12pm Friday and for the Little Bighorn River southeast of Billings from 10pm Thursday until 4pm Saturday.
Rain and mountain snow is likely this evening and tonight, but this precipitation will gradually taper off from north to south in north-central Montana as the night goes on. Some of the precipitation that falls this evening and tonight may also be heavy at times. A few thunderstorms are also possible this evening and tonight. The snow levels are also going to get lower as we go through tonight, and they may get as low as 4000 to 5000 feet by tomorrow morning, which means that some lower elevation locations may see some snow.
Tomorrow morning, there will be precipitation around in central Montana, including around Helena and in Cascade, Judith Basin, and Fergus counties, but this precipitation will taper off as the morning goes on as this storm system begins to move away from our area. The precipitation tomorrow morning will generally be in the form of rain in the lower elevations and snow in the mountains, but some lower elevation locations (as low as 4000 to 5000 feet) may see some snow. There are then going to be a few scattered rain/mountain snow showers and isolated thunderstorms around tomorrow afternoon/evening. We are also going to have partly to mostly cloudy skies tomorrow.
Between Wednesday evening and Thursday evening, the heaviest precipitation amounts will be in central and southern Montana where most locations will receive between .5” and 1.5” of precipitation. In northern Montana, lower precipitation amounts are expected as most locations will receive less than .5” of precipitation, with most of the Hi-Line east of I-15 receiving less than .25” of precipitation.
Between Wednesday evening and Thursday evening, up to 12” of snow accumulation is possible at and below pass level in central, southwestern, and south-central Montana, and up to 26” of snow accumulation is possible above pass level in the mountains in central, southwestern, and south-central Montana. This snow will create difficult travel conditions in the mountains and over the mountain passes (including Bozeman Pass, Homestake Pass, Kings Hill Pass, MacDonald Pass, and Rogers Pass), especially tonight and tomorrow morning, so please try and avoid traveling during that time if possible.
In the lower elevations, most locations will receive no snow accumulation, but some lower elevation locations, especially those that are near the mountains in central and southwestern Montana (like Bozeman, Butte, Dillon, and the Gates of the Mountains area), may receive a few inches of snow accumulation through Thursday evening.
There is also going to be a breeze around in some areas tonight and tomorrow, especially late tonight and tomorrow morning, as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph, and wind gusts over 30 mph are possible. It is also going to be chilly tonight and cool tomorrow as lows tonight are going to be in the mid to upper 30s and low to mid 40s, and highs tomorrow are going to be in the 50s and upper 40s.
There are then going to be some scattered showers and a couple thunderstorms around on Friday, especially during the afternoon/evening, as another disturbance passes through our area. It is also going to be breezy in some areas on Friday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph. We are also going to have partly cloudy skies and warmer temperatures on Friday as highs are going to be in the upper 50s and low to mid 60s.
Showers and thunderstorms are then likely on Saturday, generally during the afternoon and evening, as another storm system begins to impact our area. There are then going to be a few showers and thunderstorms around on Sunday, generally in locations east of I-15, as this storm system departs our area. We are also going to have increasing clouds on Saturday and partly cloudy skies on Sunday. It is also going to be breezy on Sunday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph. The temperatures this weekend are also going to be near average for this time of year as highs are going to be in the upper 50s, 60s, and low 70s in most locations.
Really nice weather is then expected on Memorial Day (Monday) and Tuesday as we are going to have mostly sunny skies, mostly dry conditions, and just a little wind as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 5 and 20 mph. The temperatures are also going to warm up some over these two days as highs are going to be in the upper 60s and low to mid 70s on Monday and the mid to upper 70s and low to mid 80s on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, we are going to have partly cloudy skies with a chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly during the afternoon and evening, as a disturbance passes through our area. It is also going to be warm and breezy on Wednesday as highs are going to be in the 70s and low to mid 80s, and sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph.
