A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect for portions of central and north-central Montana until 5am Wednesday. Up to 3 inches of new snow accumulation is possible. Blowing snow is also expected as winds are going to be gusting as high as 40 mph.
A WINTER STORM WARNING is in effect for portions of central and north-central Montana until 5am/11pm Wednesday. Up to 3 inches of new snow accumulation is possible. Blowing snow is also expected as winds are going to be gusting as high as 50 mph.
An AVALANCHE WARNING is in effect until 6am/7am Wednesday for some of the mountains in western, central, and southern Montana. Due to heavy snowfall and strong winds, the avalanche danger is currently very high.
A WIND CHILL ADVISORY is in effect for northeastern Montana until 1pm Thursday. Wind chills as low as 40 below zero are possible.
A WIND CHILL WARNING is in effect for the West Glacier area until 9am Wednesday. Wind chills as low as 50 below zero are possible.
There are going to be areas of primarily light snow around from this evening through Wednesday night as a storm system slowly begins to depart our area. We are then going to have mostly cloudy skies on Thursday with a few widely scattered areas of light snow around as this storm system finally departs our area. A dusting to 4 inches of new snow accumulation is possible over the next couple of days, with isolated higher amounts.
Roads are also going to be slick and/or snow-covered in many areas for the next few days, so please be careful when driving and give yourself plenty of extra time to get to where you need to go. Blowing snow is also going to be an issue tonight and tomorrow in some areas as wind gusts up to 50 mph are possible along/just east of the Continental Divide, and wind gusts up to 40 mph are possible in locations east of the Rocky Mountain Front.
We have had falling temperatures throughout the day on Tuesday and it is going to be frigid Tuesday night as lows are going to be in the -0s in many locations. On Wednesday, the temperatures are not really going to warm up much as highs are only going to be in the -0s and 0s. Lows Wednesday night are then going to be in the -0s and -10s, and highs on Thursday are going to be in the -0s and 0s.
Thursday night is then going to be the coldest night of the next week as lows are going to be in the -10s and -20s. We are also going to have dangerous wind chills around through Friday morning as wind chills as low as 40 below zero are possible. Please try and limit your time outdoors over the next few days, and if you are going to be outside at all, then make sure you bundle up!
On Friday, we are going to have partly cloudy to mostly sunny skies and dry conditions. Along the Hi-Line and in northeastern Montana, it is going to be another frigid day on Friday as highs are going to be in the 0s and -0s. South of the Hi-Line, it is going to be warmer on Friday as highs are going to be in the teens and low 20s. The wind is also going to increase later in the day on Friday.
The temperatures are then going to continue to warm up this weekend as highs are going to be in the 20s and 30s on Saturday and the 30s and low to mid 40s on Sunday. These warmer temperatures are going to be accompanied by a gusty southwesterly breeze though as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 30 mph, and wind gusts over 40 mph are going to be possible at times. We are also going to have mostly sunny skies and dry conditions on Saturday and partly cloudy skies with a few isolated rain and snow showers around on Sunday.
Partly cloudy skies and mainly dry conditions are then expected on Monday. There are then going to be some scattered snow and rain showers around on Tuesday, especially around the Helena area, as a disturbance begins to pass through our area. It is also going to be chilly on these two days as highs are going to be in the 30s in most locations. Breezy conditions are also expected on Monday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph.
