A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect for the Rocky Mountain Front from 3am/6am Wednesday until 12am/6am Thursday; for portions of central Montana from 12pm/6pm Wednesday until 12pm Thursday; and for a lot of locations west of the Divide from 12pm/6pm Wednesday until 12am/9am Thursday.
A WINTER STORM WATCH is in effect for some of the mountains/foothills in central and southern Montana from 3pm/6pm Wednesday until 12am/6am/12pm Friday.
We are going to have partly to mostly cloudy skies tonight with a little rain/snow developing in and around Glacier County as we get closer to sunrise. It is also going to be cool tonight as lows are going to be in the 30s and low 40s. The wind will also diminish this evening and there is just going to be a little breeze around overnight.
Winter will return tomorrow as a cold front from Canada passes through our area. As we go through tomorrow, precipitation will become more widespread and will gradually be working its way southward and eastward, impacting the Great Falls area by lunchtime and the Lewistown and Helena areas by late afternoon. Precipitation will start out as rain in the lower elevations in western/southern portions of north-central Montana, but this rain will mix in with and switch-over to snow as the day goes on as colder air works its way into our area. The further east of I-15 you are in north-central Montana, the less likely it is that the rain will switch-over to snow. Instead, precipitation will mainly be in the form of rain or a rain/snow mix.
There are then going to be areas of snow around tomorrow night, generally in central Montana, including around Great Falls, Helena, and Lewistown. Rain may also mix in with this snow in some of the lower elevations early on. Thursday will then be an unsettled day as the storm system pulls away as there are going to be scattered snow/graupel showers around throughout the day, especially in central Montana and in western portions of north-central Montana. We are also going to have mostly cloudy to overcast skies tomorrow and partly to mostly cloudy skies on Thursday.
In the Rockies, 8-20” of snow is expected through Thursday night, and in the mountains in central Montana, 4-12” of snow is expected through Thursday night. In the lower elevations, snow amounts will vary greatly based on your location. East of I-15 in north-central Montana, < 1.5” of snow is expected through Thursday night, with many locations receiving little to no snow accumulation. In the lower plains around and west of I-15 in north-central Montana as well as in southern portions of north-central Montana and in central Montana, including around Helena, Lewistown, and Stanford, a coating-4” of snow is expected through Thursday night. For the Rocky Mountain Front and the high plains next to the Rocky Mountain Front, 3-10” of snow is expected through Thursday night, and this includes locations like Browning and Heart Butte.
Slick/snow-covered roads are expected at and above mountain pass level and in some of the lower elevations from Wednesday evening through Thursday morning, so please be careful when driving and give yourself some extra time to get to where you need to go.
Much cooler temperatures are also expected tomorrow and Thursday as highs tomorrow are going to range from the mid 30s to the upper 50s, and highs on Thursday are going to be in the 40s and mid to upper 30s in most locations. There is also going to be a chilly breeze around on these two days as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph, and wind gusts up to 40 mph are possible. This wind will be coming out of the north in most locations and will cause there to be areas of low visibility when combined with falling snow.
The weather will then improve as we head into Friday and Saturday. On Friday, we are going to have partly to mostly sunny skies and mostly dry conditions. Lots of sunshine and dry conditions are then expected on Saturday. The temperatures are also going to warm up a lot over these two days as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 40s and low to mid 50s on Friday and the 60s on Saturday. Gusty winds will return with the warmer temperatures on Saturday though as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 30 mph.
On Easter Sunday, we are going to have partly to mostly cloudy skies with some scattered rain and mountain snow showers around, especially in the higher elevations, as a disturbance begins to impact our area. It is also going to be cooler and a bit breezy on Easter as highs are going to be in the 50s and low 60s, and sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph.
An upper-level trough will then provide us with unsettled weather for the beginning of next week. Around Helena, rain/snow is likely on Monday and there are going to be scattered snow/rain showers around on Tuesday. In north-central Montana, there are going to be some scattered rain and mountain snow showers around on these two days, with some lower elevation snow showers possible Tuesday morning. We are also going to have overcast skies on Monday and partly to mostly cloudy skies on Tuesday. It is also going to be cool on these two days as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 40s and low to mid 50s. There is also going to be a bit of a breeze around on Monday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph.
