A WINTER STORM WARNING is in effect for the Glacier National Park area until 4am/5am Thursday.
A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect for the northern high plains and the southern Rocky Mountain Front until 4am Thursday and for portions of southeastern Montana until 3pm Thursday.
A WINTER STORM WARNING is in effect for the southern Rocky Mountain Front, portions of Lewis and Clark County, and portions of western Montana from 5am/11am Thursday until 5am/11am Friday.
A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect for portions of western, southwestern, central, and north-central Montana from 5am/11am Thursday until 11am Friday.
A WINTER STORM WATCH is in effect for the Missoula and Bitterroot Valleys from 5pm Thursday until 5am Friday.
A WIND CHILL ADVISORY is in effect for the Hi-Line and the Rocky Mountain Front until 11am/5pm Thursday or 5am Friday.
A WIND CHILL ADVISORY is in effect for the Helena/Butte/Bozeman area from 11pm Thursday until 5am Friday.
A WIND CHILL WARNING is in effect for all of north-central Montana and the west Glacier area from 11am/5pm Thursday until 5am Friday or 5am Saturday.
Arctic air has begun to work its way into Montana, and it is going to be sticking around through the weekend. Tonight, lows are going to be in the -0s and 0s, and tomorrow, highs are going to be in the -0s and 0s in most locations. It is then going to be frigid tomorrow night and on Friday as lows tomorrow night are going to be in the -10s and -20s, and highs on Friday are going to be in the -10s in a lot of locations. Dangerously cold temperatures are then expected this weekend as lows Saturday morning and Sunday morning are going to be in the -20s and -30s, and highs on Saturday and Sunday are only going to be in the -0s and -10s.
It is also going to be breezy in some areas tomorrow, tomorrow night, and Friday, as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph, and wind gusts over 30 mph are possible. A lighter wind is then expected this weekend. This wind combined with frigid temperatures is going to make for some extremely dangerous wind chills as wind chills between -25° and -40° are expected in all locations, and wind chills as low as -50° to -65° are possible in north-central Montana. As of right now, the coldest wind chills are expected Thursday night into Friday morning, Friday night into Saturday morning, and Saturday night into Sunday morning. Definitely try and limit your time outdoors over the next few days if you can!
There are going to be some scattered snow showers around tonight. Snow is then likely tomorrow, especially during the afternoon and evening, and there are going to be scattered areas of snow around tomorrow night. Some lingering light snow is then possible Friday morning, generally in southern and eastern Montana. We are also going to have overcast skies from tonight through Friday morning, with decreasing clouds Friday afternoon/evening.
Between Wednesday evening and Friday evening, 1 to 6 inches of new snow accumulation is expected in a lot of central and north-central Montana, with 5 to 12 inches of new snow accumulation expected along and just east of the Continental Divide as well as in portions of Lewis and Clark County and Jefferson County. Widespread slippery road conditions are expected later tomorrow through Friday morning, so please use caution when driving and give yourself some extra time to get to where you need to go.
Mostly sunny skies and mostly dry conditions are also expected this weekend as high pressure is going to be in control of our weather!
The temperatures are then going to warm back up next week as highs are going to be in the -0s, 0s, and low 10s on Monday, and the mid to upper teens and low to mid 20s on Tuesday and Wednesday. It is also going to be a bit breezy on these three days as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph.
On Monday, we are going to have partly cloudy skies and mostly dry conditions. There are then going to be scattered snow showers around on Tuesday, and scattered areas of snow around on Wednesday as a couple disturbances pass through our area. We are also going to have mostly cloudy to overcast skies on Tuesday and Wednesday.
