A WINTER STORM WARNING is in effect for a lot of the mountains and some of the valleys in southwestern and central Montana until 12am/6am Wednesday or 6pm Wednesday.
A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect for portions of western and central Montana, including the southern Rocky Mountain Front, the lower elevations in Cascade County and Judith Basin County, Fergus County, and most of Lewis and Clark County until 12am Wednesday.
There is going to be some scattered rain, graupel, and snow around tonight in north-central Montana, generally around and west of I-15 as well as in southern portions of north-central Montana, and there is going to be widespread precipitation around Helena tonight as a storm system begins to impact our area. Around Helena, precipitation will start out as rain in the lower elevations, but will mix in with and switch-over to snow as the night goes on.
For tomorrow, snow is likely around Helena, although a little rain may mix in with this snow at times later in the day. In north-central Montana, there is going to be scattered snow, graupel, and rain around tomorrow, generally around and west of I-15 as well as in southern portions of north-central Montana, including around Great Falls, Stanford, and Lewistown. This precipitation will then gradually taper off as we go through tomorrow night.
In north-central Montana, most locations will receive 0-1” of snow through Wednesday morning. However, in southern portions of north-central Montana and around Helena, up to 4” of snow is possible in the lower elevations through Wednesday morning. Along the Continental Divide in Lewis and Clark County and along the southern half of the Rocky Mountain Front, 3-8” of snow is expected though Wednesday morning. The mountains in central Montana, including the Big Belts, Elkhorns, Little Belts, Highwoods, and Snowies, will be hammered with snow as 5-24+” of snow is expected through Wednesday morning. Travel will be difficult at times in some of the lower elevations through Wednesday morning, with the worst road conditions expected tomorrow morning. At and above mountain pass level, roads will be snow-covered/slick through Wednesday morning, so definitely use caution when driving.
It is also going to be cool/chilly tonight and tomorrow as lows tonight are going to be in the mid to upper 20s and low to mid 30s, and highs tomorrow are going to be in the mid to upper 30s and low to mid 40s. Tonight, we are going to have decreasing wind in northeastern Montana and increasing wind along the Divide/Rocky Mountain Front. It is then going to be breezy tomorrow along the Rocky Mountain Front, the Divide, in locations west of I-15 in north-central Montana, and around the Little Belts as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph.
On Wednesday, we are going to have mostly cloudy skies with some scattered rain, graupel, and snow showers around. There is then going to be scattered snow, graupel, and rain around on Thursday as a cold front passes through our area. It is also going to continue to be cool on these two days as highs are only going to be in the 30s and low to mid 40s. There is also going to be a breeze around on Thursday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph.
There are then going to be a few snow showers around on Friday, generally in the mountains and generally during the morning, as Thursday’s disturbance leaves our area. We are also going to have partly to mostly sunny skies and cool temperatures on Friday as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 30s and low to mid 40s.
Nicer weather is then expected this weekend and on Monday as an upper-level ridge is going to be in control of our weather. On these three days, we are going to have mostly sunny skies, dry conditions, and just a little breeze. The temperatures are also going to warm up a lot over these three days as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 40s and low to mid 50s on Saturday; the mid to upper 50s and low to mid 60s on Sunday; and the 60s on Monday.
