A HIGH WIND WARNING is in effect for the Rocky Mountain Front and some adjacent locations until 2pm Sunday.
A HIGH WIND WARNING is in effect for Fergus County, part of Judith Basin County, and the Judith Gap area from 5pm Saturday/3am Sunday until 5pm Sunday.
A HIGH WIND WATCH is in effect for part of Cascade County from 5pm Saturday until 5pm Sunday.
A HIGH WIND WATCH is in effect for southwestern Phillips County from 11pm Saturday until 11am Monday.
A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect for the East Glacier area from 11am Saturday until 5pm Sunday.
A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect for most of northwestern Montana from 2am Saturday until 8am Sunday and for portions of southwestern Montana from 6pm Saturday until 8am Sunday.
For the Kootenai/Cabinet region, a WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect from 2am until 10am Saturday and a WINTER STORM WARNING is in effect from 10am until 11pm Saturday.
Widespread gusty to strong winds are expected from tonight through Sunday. Along the Rocky Mountain Front, it is going to be very windy all weekend long as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 25 and 50 mph, and wind gusts up to 85 mph are possible. East of the Rocky Mountain Front, there are going to be areas of gusty to strong winds around tonight and tomorrow as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 30 mph, and wind gusts up to 50 mph are possible. Widespread strong wind is then expected tomorrow night and Sunday east of the Rocky Mountain Front as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 15 and 35 mph, and wind gusts up to 60 mph are possible. The wind this weekend is going to be coming out of the west or southwest in most locations. This wind will also create difficult travel conditions for high-profile vehicles and it may blow over some tree limbs/power lines.
We are going to have mostly cloudy skies tonight (via increasing clouds) with a couple isolated rain and mountain rain/snow showers around. It is also going to be mild tonight as lows are going to range from the mid 20s to the mid 40s, with the coldest temperatures in northeastern Montana.
For tomorrow, it is going to be another mild day as highs are going to be in the 40s, 50s, and low 60s, with the coldest temperatures in northeastern Montana. We are also going to have mostly cloudy skies tomorrow with developing rain/freezing rain/snow along the Divide and the Rocky Mountain Front during the afternoon and evening and a few isolated rain showers around throughout the day in locations east of the Rocky Mountain Front.
A mixture of rain, freezing rain, and snow is then likely tomorrow night along and west of the Continental Divide as well as along the Rocky Mountain Front. East of the Divide and the Rocky Mountain Front, there are going to be some scattered rain and snow showers around tomorrow night, generally in the mountains and in northeastern Montana. Along and west of the Continental Divide, up to .1” of ice and up to 6” of snow is possible through Sunday morning, and this ice and snow will create difficult travel conditions.
On Sunday, we are going to have partly to mostly cloudy skies with some scattered rain and snow showers around, especially during the afternoon and evening, and generally in the mountains and in the plains east of I-15. It is also going to be a lot cooler on Sunday as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 30s and low to mid 40s. There is then going to be some scattered light snow around Sunday night, and there are going to be a few areas of light snow around on Monday, generally during the morning and generally in the mountains and in locations east of I-15, as this weekend’s storm system leaves our area. We are also going to have decreasing clouds, less wind, and cooler temperatures on Monday as highs are going to be in the 30s in most locations.
Between Sunday morning and Monday evening, up to 2” or 3” of snow accumulation is possible in the lower elevations in central, north-central, and northeastern Montana, although most locations will receive less than 1” of snow. In the mountains, 3-12” of additional snow accumulation is possible during this timeframe.
We are then going to have partly to mostly cloudy skies and mostly dry conditions (just a few isolated snow/rain showers around, generally in the mountains) from Tuesday through Thursday as an upper-level ridge is going to be in control of our weather. The temperatures are also going to warm back up some over these three days as highs on Tuesday are going to be in the 30s and mid to upper 20s; highs on Wednesday are going to be in the 30s and 40s; and highs on Thursday are going to be in the 40s. The wind is also going to pick up some over these three days as it is going to be a little breezy (5-20 mph) on Tuesday; it is going to be breezy (10-25 mph) on Wednesday; and it is going to be gusty (10-30 mph) on Thursday.
On Friday, we are going to have mostly cloudy skies with some isolated snow and rain showers around, generally in the mountains, as a disturbance passes through our area. It is also going to be breezy and cool on Friday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph, and highs are going to be in the mid to upper 30s and low to mid 40s.
