A DENSE FOG ADVISORY is in effect for portions of southwestern Montana, including Bozeman, Helena, and Townsend, until 11am Wednesday.
A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect for the Rocky Mountain Front and some adjacent locations until 5pm Wednesday; for portions of north-central Montana east of I-15 until 5pm/11pm Wednesday or 5am Thursday; and for portions of south-central Montana until 12pm Wednesday.
Strong winds (gusts up to 75 mph) are expected tonight and tomorrow morning along and near the Rocky Mountain Front. Ground blizzard conditions due to blowing and drifting snow are possible due to this strong wind, which will create difficult travel conditions and may lead to some road closures. As we head into tomorrow afternoon/evening, the wind will gradually subside along the Rocky Mountain Front. East of the Rocky Mountain Front, we are going to have increasing wind tonight with widespread gusty winds around tomorrow as gusts over 40 mph are possible. Gusty winds will then continue tomorrow night in eastern portions of north-central Montana. This wind will cause there to be some areas of blowing and drifting snow around, especially along the MT-200 highway corridor.
For tonight, we are going to have increasing clouds with some areas of fog around, especially around Helena and along the eastern half of the Hi-Line. There is then going to be scattered snow and rain around tomorrow, and there is going to be some scattered snow around tomorrow night, generally in central Montana and especially before midnight, as another disturbance passes through our area. Snow accumulations with this disturbance will be light in north-central Montana with most areas receiving less than 1.5” of snow. In central Montana, including around Helena, Lewistown, and Great Falls, a coating-3” of snow is expected. In the mountains, 2-8” of snow is expected.
It is also going to be chilly tonight as lows are going to be in the single digits, teens, and 20s. It is then going to be warmer tomorrow than it was today as highs are going to be in the 30s and low 40s.
Beautiful weather is then expected on Thursday as we are going to have mostly sunny skies, mainly dry conditions, less wind, and seasonable temperatures as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 20s and low to mid 30s in most locations.
There is then going to be some more precipitation around on Friday and Saturday, generally from Friday afternoon through Saturday morning, as yet another disturbance passes through our area. Precipitation with this disturbance will start out as rain or a rain/snow mix, but will eventually switchover to snow. We are also going to have mostly cloudy skies on these two days.
Gusty winds are also expected on Friday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 30 mph, and wind gusts over 40 mph are possible. It is then going to be a little breezy on Saturday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 5 and 20 mph. We are also going to have near to above average temperatures on these two days as highs are going to be in the 30s and low 40s in most locations, with Friday being the warmer day.
Another disturbance will then bring scattered areas of light snow to our area on Sunday. A few lingering snow showers are then possible east of I-15 on Monday, generally during the morning, as this disturbance leaves our area. We are also going to have mostly cloudy skies on Sunday and partly cloudy skies on Monday. Seasonable temperatures are also expected on these two days as highs are going to be in the 20s and low 30s in most locations.
We are then going to have partly cloudy skies and dry conditions on Tuesday. It is also going to be breezy and seasonably cool on Tuesday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph, and highs are going to be in the upper 20s and low to mid 30s.
