A HIGH WIND WATCH is in effect for Glacier County, western Toole County, western/central Pondera County, central Teton County, and northern Lewis and Clark County from 9am until 9pm Thursday.
The vernal equinox is tomorrow! Spring will officially begin at 3:01am MDT!
We are going to have increasing clouds tonight with a few isolated snow showers around during the second half of the night, generally in the mountains. It is also going to be cool tonight as lows are going to be in the mid to upper 20s and low to mid 30s. There is also going to be a little breeze around tonight as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 5 and 20 mph.
Tomorrow will be a windy day, especially from the late morning through the evening, as sustained wind speeds in a lot of locations are going to be between 15 and 35 mph, and gusts over 40 mph are likely. Along the Rocky Mountain Front, gusts may top 60 mph at times, and across the plains, gusts may top 50 mph at times. The wind tomorrow will be coming out of the west/southwest, and this wind will make travel difficult for high-profile vehicles. We are also going to have partly to mostly cloudy skies tomorrow with scattered snow showers around the Helena area, especially during the morning, and a few scattered rain and snow showers around in north-central Montana, mainly in the mountains and in locations east of I-15.
Up to 4” of snow accumulation is possible in the mountains tomorrow, which means that some of the mountain passes (like Kings Hill, MacDonald, Marias, and Rogers) may be slick at times, so use caution when driving. I-15 south of Helena may also be slick at times. In the lower elevations, most locations will receive no snow accumulation, but a coating of snow is possible in a few spots. It is also going to be cool tomorrow around Helena as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 30s and low to mid 40s. In north-central Montana, highs tomorrow are going to be in the mid to upper 40s and low to mid 50s in most locations.
On Friday, we are going to have partly to mostly cloudy skies with a few isolated rain and snow showers around as we are going to be in between disturbances. It is also going to be windy again on Friday in western and central portions of north-central Montana as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 15 and 35 mph, and gusts up to 50 mph are possible. In the Helena Valley and in eastern portions of north-central Montana, it is going to be breezy on Friday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph. We are also going to have pleasant temperatures on Friday as highs are going to be in the 50s and mid to upper 40s.
There are then going to be scattered snow and rain showers around Friday night and Saturday as another disturbance passes through our area. A few to several inches of snow is possible in the mountains with this disturbance. In the lower elevations, light snow accumulations of up to an inch or two are possible, but most locations will receive little (a coating) to no snow accumulation. We are also going to have mostly to partly cloudy skies on Saturday.
Another round of widespread windy conditions is also expected on Saturday as sustained wind speeds in most locations are going to be between 15 and 35 mph, and wind gusts over 50 mph are possible. Along the Rocky Mountain Front, gusts over 60 mph are possible on Saturday. It is also going to be cool on Saturday as highs are going to be in the 40s and mid to upper 30s in most locations.
We are then going to have mostly cloudy skies on Sunday and Monday with a few rain and snow showers around Helena, generally in the mountains, and mostly dry conditions in north-central Montana as a couple weaker disturbances pass through our area. We are also going to have widespread gusty to strong winds around on these two days as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 30 mph, with the stronger wind expected on Monday. The temperatures are also going to warm up some over these two days as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 40s and low to mid 50s on Sunday and the mid to upper 50s and low to mid 60s on Monday.
An upper-level ridge is then going to provide us with beautiful weather next Tuesday and Wednesday as we are going to have partly cloudy skies, mainly dry conditions, less wind (sustained wind speeds between 5 and 20 mph), and warm temperatures are highs are going to be in the upper 50s, 60s, and low 70s, with Wednesday being the warmer day.
