Happy Wednesday! Today serves as the calm before an active few days of weather, as a major pattern shift arrives for Montana. It’ll be a milder day with plentiful sunshine, and temperatures are expected to reach the upper 30s to mid 40s. However, the wind will start to ramp up later tonight.
A HIGH WIND WARNING is in effect tonight until Thursday evening. The Rocky Mountain Front and adjacent plains and foothills could see gusts up to 100 mph, while Cascade and Judith Basin counties may experience gusts up to 65 mph. The strongest winds are expected on Thursday morning and afternoon, with significantly less wind in the valleys.
An arctic front will drop south across Montana, with scattered areas of snow developing Thursday night and Friday. Light snow accumulations of a coating to 3 inches are possible in the lower elevations, while the mountains could see 3-8 inches of snow through Friday evening. Temperatures will fall throughout the day on Friday, dropping into the 0s and 10s by sunset, with wind chills falling below zero.
The coldest temperatures since last winter are then expected this weekend as highs are going to be in the -0s, 0s, and low 10s, and lows are going to be in the -0s, -10s, and possibly even the -20s. Wind chills will be well below zero throughout the entire weekend. Please prepare yourself, your home, and your pets for the impending cold weather, as it has been fairly mild thus far this winter. Some areas may see light snow over the weekend, along with partly to mostly cloudy skies.
Temperatures will begin to rebound early next week, with highs in the 10s on Monday (MLK Day) and the 20s on Tuesday. However, some areas may be slower to warm up than others. Winds will also return, with sustained speeds increasing to 10-20 mph. A weak disturbance will bring some light snow to the area on Tuesday.
