A WINTER STORM WARNING is in effect for the East Glacier area until 12pm Thursday and for the Highwood and Little Belt mountains until 6pm Thursday.
A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect for the West Glacier area until 9am Thursday; for the northern High Plains and the southern Rocky Mountain Front until 12pm Thursday; for the lower elevations in Cascade County and Judith Basin County from 10pm Wednesday until 12pm Thursday; for the Big Belt, Bridger, Castle, Judith, and Snowy mountains until 6pm Thursday; for the Bears Paw mountains and southern Blaine County until 6am Friday; and for southwestern Phillips County from 11pm Wednesday until 4pm Friday.
There are going to be rain/graupel/snow showers around this evening. Precipitation will then become more widespread as we go through tonight, with widespread precipitation expected later tonight and tomorrow morning. This precipitation will be in the form of snow in the mountains and rain/snow in the lower elevations. In the lower elevations, precipitation will start out as rain or a rain/snow mix, but will become all snow (in most locations) later tonight as the temperatures get closer to freezing. The snow will then start to mix in with and switch back over to rain as we approach lunchtime tomorrow. Widespread rain/graupel/snow showers are then expected tomorrow afternoon and evening.
It is going to be snowing in a lot of north-central Montana for the morning commute tomorrow, so please be careful when driving and give yourself some extra time to get to where you need to go as roads will be wet/slick and visibility will be low. We are also going to have mostly cloudy to overcast skies tonight and tomorrow.
In the mountains, 2-12” of new snow accumulation is expected through Friday morning, with isolated higher amounts possible on the highest peaks. In the lower elevations, up to 2 or 3” of snow accumulation is possible through Friday morning, with a lot of that accumulation occurring on grassy surfaces. In some lower elevation locations, especially between Belt and Geyser and in Glacier County, up to 6” of snow accumulation is possible through Friday morning. This snow will create difficult travel conditions in some areas, especially over mountain passes, so please use caution when driving.
It is also going to be chilly tonight and tomorrow as lows tonight are going to be in the upper 20s and low to mid 30s, and highs tomorrow are going to be in the mid to upper 30s and low to mid 40s in most locations. There is also going to be a bit of a breeze around tonight in some areas as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph. It is then going to be breezy tomorrow as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph, and wind gusts up to 40 mph are possible.
On Friday, we are going to have partly to mostly cloudy skies with scattered rain, graupel, and snow showers around, generally in locations east of I-15 and especially during the morning, as a storm system leaves our area. It is also going to be warmer on Friday than it is going to be tomorrow as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 40s and low to mid 50s in most locations. There is also going to be a breeze around in some areas on Friday in some areas as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph.
Saturday is then going to be the nicest day of the next week as we are going to have partly to mostly cloudy skies, mainly dry conditions, and warmer temperatures as highs are going to be in the upper 50s and low to mid 60s. It is also going to be breezy in some areas on Saturday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph.
There are then going to be scattered rain and mountain rain/snow showers around on Sunday, generally during the afternoon and evening, as a disturbance impacts our area. We are also going to have mostly cloudy to overcast skies and a wide range of temperatures on Sunday as highs are going to range from the mid 50s to the mid 70s. It is also going to be a bit breezy on Sunday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph.
On Monday and Tuesday, there are going to be scattered areas of rain and mountain snow/rain around, especially in locations east of I-15, as a couple more disturbances impact our area. We are also going to have gusty winds around on these two days as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 30 mph, and wind gusts over 40 mph are possible. The temperatures are also going to cool down some over these two days as highs are going to be in the 50s and low to mid 60s on Monday and the upper 40s and low to mid 50s on Tuesday.
More rain and mountain snow/rain showers are then expected on Wednesday. It is also going to be cool and breezy on Wednesday as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 40s and low to mid 50s, and sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph.
