A HIGH WIND WARNING is in effect for a lot of Montana east of the Divide until 6pm Tuesday or 12am/6am Wednesday.
A BLIZZARD WARNING is in effect for the Highwood and Little Belt mountains from 12pm Tuesday until 12am Thursday.
A WINTER STORM WARNING is in effect for the Rocky Mountain Front and the Big Belt, Bridger, Castle, Judith, and Snowy mountains from 12pm Tuesday until 12am Thursday.
A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect for the Bears Paw mountains, southern Blaine County, Liberty County, and eastern Toole County from 3am Tuesday until 6am Wednesday.
A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect for the lower elevations in Cascade, Fergus, and Judith Basin counties from 6am Tuesday until 12pm Wednesday.
A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect for the Boulder, Centennial, and Elkhorn mountains; the Gallatin and Madison County mountains; and Upper Blackfoot and MacDonald Pass from 6pm Tuesday until 12am Thursday.
A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect for the West Glacier area from 6pm Tuesday until 11am Wednesday.
A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect for the Butte and Blackfoot region from 9pm Tuesday until 11am Wednesday.
A strong spring storm is going to be impacting Montana through Wednesday with a lot of wind, below average temperatures, and widespread precipitation.
It is going to be windy tonight as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 15 and 35 mph, and wind gusts over 50 mph are possible. It is then going to be very windy tomorrow as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 20 and 40 mph, and wind gusts up to 65 mph are possible. The strong wind will continue tomorrow night, but it will get a bit weaker as the night goes on. We are then going to have gusty winds around on Wednesday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 30 mph, and wind gusts over 40 mph are possible.
Rain and a little mountain snow is likely tonight in locations east of I-15, while mostly dry conditions are expected tonight in locations around and west of I-15. Precipitation will then shift towards the west and south as we go through tomorrow. In north-central Montana, widespread precipitation is expected tomorrow, with the heaviest and most widespread precipitation expected during the afternoon and evening. Around Helena, it will be mainly dry during the morning, but precipitation will start to move in during the afternoon and will become more widespread during the evening. This precipitation will be in the form of rain for most of the day tomorrow in the lower elevations, but some snow may start to mix in as we head into tomorrow evening. In the mountains, primarily snow is expected tomorrow.
Widespread snow and rain is then expected tomorrow night and Wednesday morning, with precipitation tapering off as we head into Wednesday afternoon and evening. In some of the lower elevations, precipitation will mix in with and switch over to snow as we go through Tuesday night. Precipitation will then mix in with and switch back to rain as we go through Wednesday as the temperatures warm back up. We are also going to have overcast skies from tonight through Wednesday.
Significant snow accumulation is expected at and above mountain pass level through Wednesday evening as 6-36” of snow is expected, with the highest snow amounts in the Little Belt and Snowy mountains. This snow, along with the wind, will create difficult travel conditions over many of the mountain passes tomorrow and Wednesday, so please use extreme caution when traveling. Over Kings Hill Pass, travel may be impossible at times due to blizzard conditions, so please try and avoid traveling in that area over the next two days.
In the lower elevations, up to 6” of snow accumulation is possible, with the highest snow amounts in locations that are near the mountains, including around Butte, Bozeman, and Lewistown as well as in between Belt and Geyser. However, most lower elevation locations will receive less than 2 inches of snow accumulation through Wednesday evening, with most of that accumulation occurring on grassy surfaces.
A lot of precipitation (rain and melted snow) is also expected through Wednesday evening as most of central and north-central Montana will receive between .5” and 2” of precipitation, which could lead to some ponding on the roadways.
It is also going to be chilly tomorrow as highs are going to be in the 40s in most locations. We are then going to have a wide range of temperatures on Wednesday as highs are going to range from the upper 30s to the low 60s, with the coldest temperatures in central Montana and western portions of north-central Montana, and the warmest temperatures along central and eastern portions of the Hi-Line.
As the spring storm system leaves our area on Thursday, we will start to see an improvement in the weather. On Thursday, we are going to have decreasing clouds, there are just going to be a few isolated rain/snow showers around, the wind will be a lot weaker (5 to 15 mph), and it will be warmer as highs are going to be in the 50s and low to mid 60s.
Beautiful weather is then expected Friday and this weekend as an upper-level ridge is going to be in control of our weather. On Friday, we are going to have partly to mostly sunny skies and dry conditions. We are then going to have lots of sunshine and mainly dry conditions this weekend. The temperatures are also going to warm up a lot over these three days as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 60s and low 70s on Friday, and the 70s and low 80s this weekend. The wind also won’t be too bad on these three days, but it will be a bit breezy this weekend as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph.
