A major one/two punch from Mother Nature is headed our way as periods of snow (heavy at times) impact much of central Montana over the next several days along with Arctic air making a comeback!
Winter Storm Warnings are in place for most of central Montana until 5pm Sunday where (storm total) we could pick up 6-12” of snow in lower elevations and 1 to 2 feet of snow in the mountains.
Winter Weather Advisories are out for the same time frame for areas along the Hi-Line where 5”-10” of snow are possible.
Of course, we won’t see wall to wall snowfall. A brief break looks to emerge across central Montana Friday late afternoon and again early Saturday morning.
Oh ya… and now we have to talk Arctic air!
During this snow event, winds will begin to pick up as colder, Arctic air invades from the north. There will be times of little to no visibility on area roadways along with blowing/drifting snow. Wind chill values will likely range from -15 to -40 and wind chill highlights could very well be issued.
A Wind Chill Advisory is already in place for northeastern Montana throughout the day on Friday. We will most definitely see these expand in coverage and duration running into the weekend.
Highs will be in the 30s on Friday then begin to drop throughout the day on Saturday from NNE to SSW. Great Falls, for example, will only top out in the upper teens while Helena could remain in the upper 20s to low 30s.
By Sunday morning, lows will be in the single digits both above and below zero with daytime highs in the single digits. Lingering snow showers will be likely.
Monday morning lows will be in the single digits to teens below zero and remain below zero for a lot of us throughout the day. At least we’ll have some sunshine, eh?!
Those frigid lows will continue Tuesday and Wednesday mornings with quiet conditions as high pressure builds.
