A HIGH WIND WATCH is in effect for the East Glacier area and the northern high plains from 7am Saturday until 11pm Sunday.
A HIGH WIND WATCH is in effect for other portions of north-central Montana from 11pm Saturday/5am Sunday until 11pm Sunday.
A HIGH WIND WARNING is in effect for the Judith Gap and Big Timber area from 5am Saturday until 5pm Monday.
A WIND ADVISORY is in effect for the Livingston area until 5pm Monday.
Wind, wind, and more wind. We are going to have to deal with a lot of wind this weekend. Along the Rocky Mountain Front, it is going to be very windy this weekend as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 25 and 50 mph, and wind gusts up to 85 mph are possible. Due to the wind today, there has been severe blowing/drifting snow along the northern half of the Rocky Mountain Front, and emergency travel only is highly recommended tonight due to poor road conditions in western Glacier County. Blowing/drifting snow will continue to be an issue along the Rocky Mountain Front for the rest of tonight, but the threat of blowing/drifting snow will diminish tomorrow as the temperatures warm back up.
East of the Rocky Mountain Front, we are going to have widespread gusty to strong winds around this weekend as sustained wind speeds in a lot of locations are going to be between 15 and 35 mph, and wind gusts are going to be between 40 and 65 mph. In the Helena valley, there is just going to be a light breeze around tomorrow and it is going to be a little breezy on Sunday as gusts up to 30 mph are possible. In northeastern Montana (Phillips County and Valley County), there is just going to be a little breeze around tomorrow, but the wind will pick up on Sunday as gusts up to 40 mph are possible.
It is also going to be mild this weekend as highs tomorrow are going to be in the mid to upper 30s and low to mid 40s, and highs on Sunday are going to be in the 40s and low to mid 50s. The temperatures won’t cool off much at night either as lows tonight are going to range from the mid teens to the upper 30s (coldest in northeastern Montana), and lows tomorrow night are going to range from the mid 20s to the low 40s. This warmth is going to allow the snow to really melt this weekend, so there will be standing water on roadways and roads that had packed snow will become very slushy. Localized flooding is also possible this weekend due to ice jams and increased runoff.
Tonight, we are going to have mostly cloudy skies with a couple isolated rain and snow showers around. We are then going to have mostly to partly cloudy skies tomorrow (more sun during the PM hours) and mostly dry conditions. There are then going to be some isolated rain and snow showers around tomorrow night, generally after midnight, as another disturbance begins to impact our area. On Sunday, snow is likely all day along the Divide, there is going to be some scattered lower elevation rain and mountain snow around the Helena area, generally during the morning and evening, and there are going to be a few rain and mountain snow showers around in north-central Montana east of I-15. We are also going to have mostly cloudy skies on Sunday.
In the lower elevations, little to no snow accumulation is expected this weekend. In the mountains, a few to several inches of snow is expected this weekend, with the highest amounts in the Glacier National Park area, where over a foot of snow is possible.
There are then going to be scattered rain and mountain snow showers around Sunday night, especially around the Helena area, as another disturbance passes through our area. We are then going to have partly cloudy skies on Monday with some isolated rain and mountain snow showers around, generally during the morning and generally in the mountains/along the Hi-Line, as this disturbance leaves our area. It is also going to be mild and windy on Monday as highs are going to be in the 40s and low 50s, and sustained wind speeds are going to be between 15 and 35 mph, with wind gusts over 50 mph possible at times.
On Tuesday, we are going to have partly cloudy skies with a few rain and snow showers around in north-central Montana, generally in the mountains and along the Hi-Line, and a mixture of snow/rain around the Helena area, especially during the morning, as another disturbance passes through our area. Tuesday will also be another windy and relatively mild day as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 15 and 35 mph, and highs are going to be in the 40s and upper 30s.
We are then going to have partly to mostly sunny skies and mainly dry conditions Wednesday through Friday as high pressure is going to be in control of our weather. We are also going to continue to have above average temperatures on these three days as highs are going to be in the 40s and low to mid 50s.
The wind will also die down some later next week. On Wednesday, we are going to have gusty winds around as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 30 mph. It is then going to be breezy on Thursday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph. There is then just going to be a little breeze around on Friday.
