A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect for portions of central and northeastern Montana until 5am Sunday.
A WINTER STORM WARNING is in effect for portions of north-central Montana until 5am Sunday.
A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect for portions of north-central Montana from 6am Sunday until 5am Monday.
There are going to be areas of precipitation around tonight as an upper-level trough begins to impact our area. Precipitation tonight may start out as rain/freezing rain or a rain/snow mix, but will eventually transition over to snow for everyone. There is then going to be scattered light to moderate snow around in the lower elevations throughout the weekend. With the precipitation being scattered in nature, that means that there will be times when it is just overcast and dry and there will be times when it is snowing. In the mountains in central Montana, a steady, heavy snow is expected for most of the weekend.
In the lower elevations, most locations will receive a coating-4” of snow by Monday morning. In the foothills and northerly upslope areas, like around Lewistown, along Highway 87 from east of Great Falls to west of Stanford, and along Montana 80/81 from Geraldine to the intersection with US 191, 5-12” of snow is expected through Monday morning, with locations around Raynesford and Geyser possibly receiving up to 18” of snow. In the mountains, 4+” of snow is expected, with up to 3 feet of snow possible in the Highwoods, Little Belts, Snowies, Bears Paw, and Judith mountains through Monday morning.
This snow will create slippery travel conditions in the lower elevations, and difficult to possibly impossible travel conditions in the mountains, along Highway 87 between Belt and Stanford, around Lewistown, and along MT-80 and MT-81 from around Geraldine to the intersection with US 191, so please use extreme caution when traveling. There are also going to be areas of reduced visibility and areas of blowing and drifting snow around tonight and tomorrow due to the combination of falling snow and gusty winds, so that’s another hazard you will have to contend with if you are going to be traveling anywhere.
Widespread blustery conditions are also expected tonight and tomorrow as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 30 mph, and wind gusts over 40 mph are possible. The strongest wind tonight and tomorrow will be in locations east of I-15. Tonight, it is going to be seasonably mild as lows are going to be in the mid to upper 20s and low to mid 30s. We are then going to have seasonable temperatures tomorrow as highs are going to be in the upper 20s and low to mid 30s. On Sunday, highs are going to be in the mid to upper 20s and low to mid 30s in most locations (teens in northeastern Montana) and there is going to be less wind around as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 5 and 20 mph.
On Monday, we are going to have partly to mostly sunny skies with a few lingering snow showers around during the morning as this weekend’s storm system leaves our area. We are then going to have mostly sunny skies and dry conditions on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday as an upper-level ridge is going to be in control of our weather. Valley inversions are also possible next week, so it may be foggy at times in western and southwestern Montana, including around Helena.
Highs on Monday are going to be in the mid to upper 20s and low to mid 30s. It is then going to be warmer on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday as highs are going to be in the 30s and low 40s in most locations. It is also going to be breezy in some areas next week as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph on most days.
Colder temperatures and some more snow is then expected Friday and next weekend.
