Good morning! It was a wintry start to the first full week of January. A system that moved through overnight overperformed a bit and brought several inches of snow to both Helena and Great Falls. Trained spotters recorded 5.5" in Montana City, 4" in East Helena, and 3" in Helena. The snow is wrapping up in central Montana, but light snow showers continue in northeastern Montana.
Monday will be the coldest day of the week, with daytime highs only reaching the 10s and 20s. Tonight, another round of light snow will move from north to south across north central Montana, bringing a dusting to 2 inches for areas east of I-15 and up to 5 inches in the mountains by Tuesday morning.
The wind is going to start to pick up on Tuesday for the Rocky Mountain Front. A 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 is in effect from Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday morning for the Rocky Mountain Front. Frequent gusts to 50-60 mph will lead to ground blizzards, blowing and drifting snow, and hazardous travel conditions. Temperatures will rise to the mid 20s to low 30s on Tuesday.
Then, a second system arrives Wednesday night, bringing an additional snow to the mountains. By Thursday morning the mountains will see 4-12 inches of snow. Temperatures continue to climb midweek with high temperatures in the mid to upper 30s. Another round of light snow will move across the plains and mountains in central Montana Wednesday night into Thursday.
Temperatures will remain around or just below average throughout the week and this weekend. Another storm system is likely to bring heavy snow to the mountains and light accumulations to lower elevations Friday night into Saturday, along with strong winds and blowing snow. Unsettled weather will continue through the weekend, with the potential for over a foot of snow in central Montana's mountain ranges between Friday and Sunday.
