WEATHER DISCUSSION: Some would say, it’s the first day of winter. While that may not technically be true, it sure does feel like it. Today, highs peaked only into the upper 20’s and 30’s with cloudy skies that hung around all day. The first batch of snow hit mostly along the Rocky Mountain front and the Hi-line before eventually making its way South into the rest of the state. Radars suggest that the snowfall will reach Great Falls in the evening hours and will continue to increase overnight and into Wednesday morning. 5 to 8 inches are expected for most of the North Central and Central areas, prompting weather alerts to be in effect.
Along the Rocky Mountain Front and the Hi-line, a Winter Weather Advisory shown in purple will be in effect 6 pm tonight through 6 pm Wednesday with 2-4 inches of snow expected and possible wind gusts up to 35 mph. Impacts of this includes possible slippery road conditions and reduced visibility due to patchy and blowing snow.
Throughout Central Montana, a Winter Storm Warning shown in pink is also in effect from 6 pm tonight through 6 pm Wednesday night. Heavy snow is expected with 5 to 11 inches of accumulated snow and wind gusts up to 35 mph. This has the opportunity to create difficult and sometimes impossible travel conditions due to lack of visibility and snow on the road.
A Winter Storm Watch shown in blue is also in effect for Southern portions of Montana meaning that conditions have the opportunity to reach Warning levels.
Tomorrow on Wednesday, expect temperatures to only peak in the 20’s with overnight lows down in the teens again. Snow looks to continue well into the morning before decreasing in the late afternoon for the Great Falls area. Scattered snow will continue into Thursday before dying off all together as the weekend approaches. The temperatures will only get colder with overnight lows eventually hitting the single digits. While this upcoming weekend looks to be drier with low chances for snow, the temperatures will remain cold until Sunday when they will begin increasing again. It’s unclear at this time just how much.
TUESDAY NIGHT: Snow, heavy at times. Lows in the teens with 10 to 20 mph winds.
WEDNESDAY: Snow and cloudy with highs in the 20’s and lows in the teens. 0 to 20 mph winds.
THURSDAY: Chance of snow and cloudy with highs in the 20’s and lows in the single digits. 5 to 10 mph winds.
FRIDAY: Chance of snow and mostly cloudy with highs in the 20’s and lows in the single digits. 5 to 10 mph winds.
SATURDAY: Slight chance of snow. Mostly sunny then partly cloudy with highs in the 20’s and lows in the single digits.
SUNDAY: Mostly sunny then partly cloudy with highs in the 30’s and lows in the teens.
MONDAY: Mosty sunny with highs in the 30’s.
