A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect for far western Montana from 2am until 2pm Thursday.
For Christmas Day, we are going to have beautiful weather as the skies are going to clear out during the morning, resulting in lots of sunshine for most of the day. It is also going to be cooler tomorrow than it was today as highs are going to be in the upper 30s and low to mid 40s in most locations. Along the Rocky Mountain Front, gusty winds are expected tomorrow as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 20 and 35 mph, and wind gusts over 50 mph are possible. East of the Rocky Mountain Front, it is going to be breezy tomorrow in a lot of areas as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph.
There is then going to be some scattered rain and snow around from Thursday through Saturday as a few disturbances pass through our area. A lot of this precipitation will fall in the mountains and around the Helena area, but there will also be a few rain and snow showers around in north-central Montana east of the Rocky Mountain Front. In the lower elevations, little to no snow accumulation is expected over these three days. In the mountains, several inches of snow will likely accumulate over these three days, with a few mountain ranges possibly receiving up to a foot of snow accumulation. We are also going to have overcast skies on Thursday and partly to mostly cloudy skies on Friday and Saturday.
The wind is also going to be a nuisance on these three days as sustained wind speeds in a lot of locations are going to be between 10 and 30 mph, and wind gusts over 40 mph are possible, with a few gusts possibly approaching 60 mph along the Rocky Mountain Front. The strongest wind on these three days is going to be along the Rocky Mountain Front and in Cascade County, Chouteau County, and Judith Basin County. We are also going to continue to have above average temperatures on these three days as highs are going to be in the 40s and upper 30s in most locations.
On Sunday, we are going to have increasing clouds with developing rain/snow in central Montana, generally during the afternoon and evening, as a stronger storm system begins to approach our area. There are then going to be scattered areas of snow around Sunday night and Monday as this storm system passes through Montana. The temperatures are also going to cool down some between Sunday and Monday as highs on Sunday are going to be in the mid to upper 30s and low to mid 40s and highs on Monday are going to be in the mid to upper 20s and low to mid 30s.
We are then going to have partly to mostly cloudy skies on Tuesday with some isolated snow showers around. It is also going to be chilly on Tuesday as highs are going to be in the 20s and low to mid 30s.
As of right now, a cooler and wetter weather pattern is expected next week, and it does look like this cooler and wetter weather will stick around through at least the middle of January.
