WEATHER DISCUSSION: Another cold night is on the way to Montana with North Central areas seeing temperatures below zero, in the single digits, and in the teens. Locations around Helena might see temperatures in the 20’s.
Expect a cloudy night tonight with some light snow chances. Winds will be on the lighter side tonight, around 5 to 10 mph with gusts up to 20 mph for Eastern portions of the state.
An active northwesterly flow aloft will continue for much of the next seven days. A series of disturbances will pass through the Northern Rockies later tonight through early Tuesday, bringing opportunities for light snow mostly in SW MT and Central MT upper elevations and mountains. Most locations will likely see less than 1" of snow though this period with northerly, lower elevation areas across Central and Southwest Montana like Great Falls, Lewistown, and Helena seeing chances of exceeding 2" of snow.
Tomorrow, expect temperatures below freezing for most areas, likely in the teens and 20’s with mostly cloudy skies, chances of light snow, and 5 to 10 mph winds.
A Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect for the Little Belt and Highwood Mountains and other SW/Central MT ranges until 11 am Monday because of additional snow accumulations between 1 to 3” and isolated higher locations up to 5”. Slippery road conditions should be cautioned through these areas.
The work week will start with colder temperatures, most notably over the plains of Central and North Central Montana. Temperatures will moderate slowly through the remainder of the work week. Expect that temperatures will remain below freezing over the plains of Central and North Central Montana on Monday.
A rapidly strengthening pressure gradient along the Rocky Mountain Front will likely occur by Monday night and across the Montana Hwy 200 corridor in Central Montana through the day on Tuesday and Wednesday. 40/50 mph winds along the Rocky Mountain Front and North Central Montana are expected through this timeframe. Winds around 50/60 mph are possible in Cutbank, Browning, and Babb areas as well.
As these surface winds along the Rocky Mountain Front and Central Montana mountains increase, most plains and valley locations will likely see warming around/above freezing by Wednesday as the breezy and gusty conditons spread.
The main concern through this period will be chances for blowing and drifting snow before a crust can be established on the snowpack. A Winter Weather Advisory from late Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday morning might be in effect to address travel impacts due to blowing/drifting snow.
Additional snowfall is expected on Wednesday and Wednesday night. By Friday afternoon/evening, a more potent disturbance will begin to approach the Northern Rockies, potentially bringing more impactful snow to the ranges of Central Montana including the Little Belt Mountains.
