A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect until 12am Thursday for central and eastern portions of the Hi-Line, and until 12pm Thursday for the rest of central and north-central Montana. Total snow accumulation of a coating to 3 inches is expected in the lower elevations, while total snow accumulation of 3 to 7 inches is expected in the mountains.
A LAKE WIND ADVISORY is in effect for Fort Peck Lake until 8pm Thursday. Sustained wind speeds are going to be between 15 and 25 mph, and wind gusts up to 35 mph are going to be possible at times.
The main batch of snow is going to continue to work its way southward through central and southern Montana tonight. Behind this main batch of snow, there will be some scattered snow showers around throughout the night. For tomorrow, we are going to have some isolated areas of snow around during the morning, generally in the mountains and the northerly upslope regions of the mountains within Cascade County, Fergus County, and Judith Basin County. We are also going to have mostly to partly cloudy skies tomorrow, with decreasing clouds during the afternoon and evening.
In the lower elevations, a coating to 3 inches of total snow accumulation is expected from this storm, while 3 to 7 inches of total snow accumulation is expected in the mountains. Also, the roads are going to be slick and/or snow-covered from this snow tonight and tomorrow morning, so please be careful when driving and give yourself some extra time to get to where you need to go.
It is also going to be breezy tonight and tomorrow as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph, and wind gusts up to 40 mph are going to be possible at times. Tonight, the wind is going to come out of the NNW, while tomorrow, the wind is going to come out of the WNW. This wind is also going to cause there to be areas of blowing snow, especially in the higher elevations.
Frigid temperatures are also expected tonight and tomorrow as lows tonight are going to be in the single digits, and highs tomorrow are only going to be in the single digits and low to mid teens.
Thursday night is going to be bitterly cold as lows are going to be around or below zero in most locations, and wind chills are going to be in the teens and 20s below zero. On Friday, highs are going to be in the teens and 20s. It is also going to be breezy on Friday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph, and this wind is going to be coming out of the SW. We are also going to have mostly sunny skies on Friday.
For this weekend, we are going to have mostly sunny skies on Saturday and partly cloudy skies on Sunday. The temperatures are also going to warm up some this weekend as highs are going to be in the 20s and low 30s on Saturday, and the mid to upper 20s and low to mid 30s on Sunday. It is also going to be breezy this weekend as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph.
On Monday, we are going to have partly cloudy to mostly sunny skies. It is also going to be chilly and breezy on Monday as highs are going to be in the 30s and sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph.
Some isolated rain and snow showers are then possible on Tuesday as a disturbance passes through our area. We are then going to have a chance to see some rain and snow showers on Wednesday as another 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 chilly and breezy on these two days as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 30s and low 40s, and sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph.
