A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect for the Helena and Lewistown areas until 11pm Friday.
A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect for north-central Montana until 5am Sunday.
A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect for northeastern Montana until 5pm Sunday.
A WINTER STORM WARNING is in effect for the northern part of the Rocky Mountain Front and western portions of the Hi-Line until 5am Sunday.
As we go through Friday night, snow will gradually taper off in north-central Montana and freezing rain will taper off around Helena. However, we are not done with the precipitation quite yet. There are going to be a few more waves of precipitation that pass through our area. In north-central Montana, the bulk of the precipitation that falls overnight and into Saturday will be in the form of snow, although a little freezing rain may mix in at times.
In central Montana, including around Helena and Lewistown, the precipitation that falls tonight and tomorrow is going to be in the form of freezing rain and rain, although a little snow may mix in at times. Since this precipitation is going to be coming in different waves, that means that there will also be large chunks of dry time tonight and tomorrow. A quick burst of heavier precipitation is also possible later on tomorrow as a cold front passes through our area.
On Saturday night night, there will be a few snow showers around in north-central Montana and there will be some scattered snow showers around the Helena area. We are then going to have decreasing clouds on Sunday with a few lingering snow showers around during the morning.
Roads will be slick/snow-covered for most of this weekend, but especially through Saturday, so please use extreme caution when driving and give yourself some extra time to get to where you need to go. Through Sunday morning, an additional coating to 5” of snow accumulation is expected in most of north-central Montana, with isolated higher amounts possible along western portions of the Hi-Line and the northern half of the Rocky Mountain Front. Around Helena and Lewistown, up to an inch or two of snow accumulation and a light glaze of ice is possible through Sunday morning.
It is also going to be cold as lows tonight are going to range from the mid teens to the mid 30s, and highs tomorrow are going to range from the upper teens to the mid 40s. Both tonight and tomorrow, the coldest temperatures will be along the Hi-Line and the warmest temperatures will be in central Montana. There is also going to be a breeze around in some areas later tonight and tomorrow 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 make it feel even colder and it will cause there to be areas of blowing and drifting snow around. It is then going to be cold for everyone on Sunday as highs are going to be in the teens and 20s.
We are then going to have mostly to partly cloudy skies and mostly dry conditions on Monday and partly to mostly sunny skies with just a couple isolated snow showers around on Tuesday as high pressure is generally going to be in control of our weather. There is also going to be a little breeze around on Tuesday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 5 and 20 mph. The temperatures are also going to warm up some over these two days as highs are going to range from the mid teens to the mid 30s on Monday, with the coldest temperatures along the Hi-Line, and highs are going to be in the 20s and 30s on Tuesday.
There are then going to be a few scattered snow showers around on Wednesday and Thursday, especially from Wednesday afternoon through Thursday morning, as a disturbance passes through our area. We are also going to have partly to mostly cloudy skies on these two days. It is also going to be cold on these two days as highs on Wednesday are going to be in the 20s and low to mid 30s and highs on Thursday are going to be in the 20s and mid to upper teens.
We are then going to have partly cloudy skies and mostly dry conditions on Friday with highs in the teens and 20s in most locations.
