It is a quiet start to November, but that won't last long as an active weather pattern is setting up all the way through next week, especially for the mountains. There is also the potential for the first accumulating snow of the season for parts of central Montana come Election Day.
The first round of mountain snow will arrive as a disturbance moves in Saturday morning. Roads over mountain passes could become slick during the day, and especially Saturday night. The mountains of western Montana and along the continental Divide will receive 1-4" of snowfall by Saturday evening.
While the lower elevations will generally remain dry over the weekend, there is a slight chance for a stray rain or snow shower. Temperatures will be seasonably mild on Saturday, with highs in the low to mid-50s, but will drop a bit on Sunday, reaching the mid to upper 40s.
Light snow showers will persist in the mountains on Sunday and Monday, although only minor accumulations are expected.
The next storm drops in from the northwest Monday night. The wind is going to pick up quickly ahead of the arrival of the storm, with gusts of 50-70mph likely for the Rocky Mountain Front Monday into Tuesday.
Light snow will overspread western Montana from northwest to southeast Monday night. There will be scattered snow showers east of the Divide but most areas will receive less than an inch of snowfall. There could be some slick spots on Election Day morning.
This system will likely bring the first good snowfall to the mountain ranges of central Montana. Then, a high pressure ridge looks to strengthen over the region kick-starting a warming trend and bringing more sunshine to the area for the remainder of the week.
