A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect for north-central Montana until 9am Thursday. Up to 3 inches of snow accumulation is possible. In the Grass Range area, up to 5 inches of snow accumulation is possible. Slippery road conditions are also expected.
There are going to be scattered areas of light snow around tonight, especially in north-central Montana, as a disturbance passes through our area. For tomorrow, we are going to have mostly cloudy skies with some snow around during the morning in eastern Montana. In locations that do see some snow tonight/tomorrow, up to 3 inches of snow accumulation is possible, with isolated areas receiving up to 5 inches of snow accumulation. This snow is also going to create slippery road conditions, 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 cold tonight and tomorrow as lows tonight are going to be in the single digits in a lot of locations, and highs tomorrow are going to range from the mid teens to the mid 30s. There is also going to be a little bit of a breeze around tonight and tomorrow, especially in locations east of I-15, as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 5 and 20 mph.
Snow is then going to begin to work its way into portions of central Montana after midnight tomorrow night. Widespread snow is then expected Friday and Friday night, and some of this snow may be heavy at times, especially Friday afternoon/evening, as a storm system passes through our area. Some rain/freezing rain is also possible in the lower elevations in central and southern Montana on Friday as some warmer air works its way into those areas.
The Friday/Friday night storm system is going to be an impactful one. Right now, 1 to 6 inches of snow accumulation is expected in most of the lower elevations, with up to 10 inches of snow accumulation possible in some locations along the Rocky Mountain Front and near the Canadian border. Also, some mountains will likely receive over a foot of snow from this storm system. This snow is going to create difficult travel conditions, so please be careful when driving and give yourself plenty of extra time to get to where you need to go.
On Saturday, we are going to have partly cloudy skies with some scattered snow and rain showers around as the atmosphere remains unstable behind this storm system. It is also going to continue to be cold on Friday and Saturday as highs are going to be in the 20s and 30s. Gusty winds are also expected on Friday in locations east of I-15 as wind gusts over 40 mph are going to be possible at times. It is then going to be breezy in some areas on Saturday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph.
Partly cloudy skies and mainly dry conditions are then expected on Sunday and Monday. On Sunday, it is going to continue to be cold as highs are going to range from the mid teens to the upper 30s. The temperatures are then going to warm up some on Monday as highs are going to range from the upper 20s to the upper 40s. It is also going to be breezy in some areas on Monday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph.
For Tuesday and Wednesday, we are going to have partly to mostly cloudy skies with a few scattered snow and rain showers around, generally in the mountains and around the Helena area, as a disturbance passes through our area. It is also going to be warmer on these two days than it has been for most of this month as highs on Tuesday are going to range from the mid 30s to the mid 50s, and highs on Wednesday are going to be in the 30s and 40s. Breezy conditions are also expected on Tuesday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph.
