Good morning! Winter is slowly making its presence known across central Montana. On Wednesday morning, many areas experienced their coldest temperatures of the season so far, dipping into the 10s and 20s. By Thursday morning, higher elevations in central and southwest Montana, including Showdown Montana, woke up to a fresh coating of snow. Now, the system responsible for this precipitation is moving away from the area.
This afternoon, a dry northwest flow will keep conditions chilly and clear. Daytime highs will only reach the upper 40s and low to mid 50s. It will be fairly breezy, with gusts reaching 30-40mph across north central Montana. Tonight, temperatures plunge into the upper 10s and low to mid 20s, setting the stage for a frigid Friday morning.
On Friday, a ridge of high pressure starts to build in, keeping the weather dry and kick starting a warming trend. Temperatures will climb headed into the upcoming weekend, but that will come at the cost of gusty winds, especially on Sunday. Highs are expected to reach the mid to upper 60s, with some areas even hitting the low 70s, accompanied by occasional cloud cover.
Big changes are in store for early next week. A strong Pacific storm system will send a blast of chilly air our way early next week, along with a chance for some precipitation. There is a possibility that lower elevations could see snow mixed in with rain showers on Tuesday!
An active weather pattern is expected to persist into late next week, although the majority of the precipitation is likely to impact western Montana rather than the plains. This could result in substantial snowfall across higher elevations along the Continental Divide and throughout western Montana.
