A HIGH WIND WATCH is in effect for the lower elevations in Cascade County and Judith Basin County as well as central/eastern Glacier County, central Pondera County, and western Toole County from 11pm Friday until 8pm Saturday.
A WINTER STORM WARNING is in effect for the Rocky Mountain Front from 8am Friday until 5am Sunday.
A WINTER STORM WATCH is in effect for the Rocky Mountain Front and the mountains in central Montana from 5am Sunday until 5pm Monday.
We are going to have mostly cloudy skies tonight with a slight chance of rain/snow showers along the Hi-Line and in the mountains. It is also going to be breezy tonight in western portions of north-central Montana as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph. We are also going to have a wide range of temperatures again tonight as lows are going to range from the low teens to the mid 30s, with the coldest temperatures in the valleys.
For tomorrow, we are going to have mostly cloudy to overcast skies with some isolated rain and snow showers around, generally in the mountains and along the Hi-Line, as a disturbance passes through our area. We are then going to have partly to mostly cloudy skies on Saturday with snow showers (possibly mixing with some rain) likely around Helena and a few rain and snow showers around in north-central Montana, mainly in the mountains and in locations east of I-15, as a front passes through our area. A few snow squalls are also possible on Saturday, so please be careful when traveling.
Along the immediate eastern slopes of the Rockies, over 5” of snow is expected from tomorrow morning through Sunday morning, with up to two feet of snow possible in Glacier National Park. For the northern high plains, including Browning, around Cut Bank, and in central Montana, including around Helena and Lewistown, a coating to 3” of snow is possible through Sunday morning, with up to a half foot of snow possible in the mountains in central Montana east of I-15. Elsewhere, little to no snow accumulation is expected.
We are also going to continue to have above average temperatures tomorrow and Saturday as highs are going to be in the 30s and low to mid 40s in most locations. From tomorrow morning through Saturday, it is going to be windy along the Rocky Mountain Front as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 20 and 45 mph, and wind gusts up to 75 mph are possible. This wind combined with heavy snow in the Glacier area, including over Marias Pass, will make for difficult to impossible travel over these two days, especially from Friday evening through Saturday evening, as blizzard conditions are likely, so try and avoid traveling in this area if you can.
East of the Rocky Mountain Front, it is going to be breezy in some areas tomorrow as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph. We are then going to have increasing wind tomorrow night, with widespread gusty to strong winds around on Saturday as wind gusts up to 60 mph are possible between the Rocky Mountain Front and I-15 as well as along the MT-200 highway corridor in Cascade and Judtih Basin Counties, and gusts over 40 mph are possible elsewhere. In the Helena valley, there will be little to no wind again tomorrow. It will then be a bit breezy on Saturday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph.
We are then going to have developing snow on Sunday, generally during the afternoon/evening, in central Montana, including around Helena and Lewistown, and we are going to have a chance to see some snow on Sunday, generally during the PM hours, in north-central Montana. There are then going to be areas of light to moderate snow around from Monday through Wednesday, with the most widespread snow expected on Tuesday. We should then begin to dry out as we head into Thursday.
It is still too far out to talk about exact snow amounts, but a few to several inches of snow accumulation is possible in the lower elevations from Sunday through Wednesday and over a foot of snow is possible in some of the mountains from Sunday through Wednesday. Right now, the lowest snow amounts look to be along the Hi-Line, with higher snow amounts the further south in the state you go. Be prepared for difficult travel conditions throughout a good chunk of the state next week.
It is also going to be significantly colder Sunday and next week as highs are going to be in the 0s and low 10s on Sunday (10s and low 20s around Helena), and the -0s and 0s Monday through Wednesday, with lows in the -0s and -10s. It will then be a bit warmer on Thursday with highs in the teens and low 20s. There is also going to be a little breeze around on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 5 and 20 mph.
