A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect for portions of southwestern, central, and north-central Montana until 12am Friday and for portions of northeastern Montana until 3pm Friday. 1 to 8 inches of snow accumulation is expected.
A WINTER STORM WARNING is in effect for portions of southwestern, central, and north-central Montana until 12am Friday and for southwestern Phillips County until 3pm Friday. 4 to 12 inches of snow accumulation is expected below pass level, and 9 to 24 inches of snow accumulation is expected above pass level. In southwestern Phillips County, up to 10 inches of snow accumulation is possible.
A FLOOD WARNING is in effect for the Milk River near Dodson until 9am April 20th; for Big Sandy Creek near Havre until further notice; for the Milk River in Blaine County until further notice; for Beaver Creek near Hinsdale until further notice; and for the Milk River from around the Saco area to around the Nashua area until further notice.
A FLOOD ADVISORY is in effect for most of the Hi-Line east of I-15 and part of Meagher County until 6pm Friday. Flooding due to snowmelt is occurring.
Flooding due to snowmelt will continue to be an issue for the next several days along the Hi-Line and in portions of central Montana. Although it is now cooler, it will still take some time for the water levels to recede. Also, additional precipitation in the form of rain and snow is expected from this evening through tomorrow night, which may lead to some additional flooding as this moisture is not going to have anywhere to go in areas that have been dealing with flooding this week.
Precipitation will become more widespread within central and north-central Montana as we go through tonight. In the lower elevations, this precipitation will initially be in the form of rain, but this rain will transition over to snow as the night goes on, generally from south to north. In the higher elevations, all snow is expected tonight. We are then going to have widespread snow around for the entire day tomorrow, and this snow may mix in with rain at times in portions of north-central Montana, especially along the Hi-Line. The snow is then going to gradually taper off from west to east tomorrow night as this storm system leaves our area. The cloud cover will also start to diminish a bit tomorrow night.
Snow accumulation will vary a lot with this storm system. Along the Hi-Line, a coating to 4 inches of snow accumulation is expected in the lower elevations, with up to 6 inches possible in spots. In the Bears Paw Mountains and in the Little Rockies, 3 to 10 inches of snow accumulation is expected.
In the lower elevations in central Montana and in southern portions of north-central Montana, 2 to 8 inches of snow accumulation is expected, with up to 12 inches of snow accumulation possible in spots. In the mountains in central and southern portions of north-central Montana, 9 to 24 inches of snow accumulation is expected (at and above pass level).
This snow will cause difficult travel conditions in some areas, so please be careful when driving and give yourself some extra time to get to where you need to go. This is also going to be a very wet snow, so it may cause power outages and it may cause some tree damage.
It is also going to be cool tonight and chilly tomorrow as lows tonight are going to be in the mid to upper 20s and low to mid 30s, and highs tomorrow are going to be in the 30s and low 40s. Breezy conditions are also expected tomorrow, especially in central Montana, as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph, and this is going to be a cold wind as it is going to be coming out of the north..
On Friday, there are going to be some scattered snow and rain showers around, especially during the afternoon and evening, as a disturbance passes through our area. We are also going to have partly cloudy skies and slightly warmer temperatures on Friday as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 30s and low to mid 40s.
For this weekend, we are going to have mostly sunny skies and dry conditions on Saturday and partly cloudy skies and dry conditions on Sunday. The temperatures are also going to warm up a lot this weekend as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 40s and low to mid 50s on Saturday, and the mid to upper 50s and low to mid 60s on Sunday. There is also going to be a bit of a breeze around this weekend as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph.
On Monday, we are going to have mostly cloudy skies with some isolated rain and mountain snow showers around during the afternoon and evening. There are then going to be some scattered rain and snow showers around on Tuesday, and we are going to have a chance to see some rain and snow showers on Wednesday as a storm system passes through our area. We are also going to have mostly cloudy skies on Tuesday and partly cloudy skies on Wednesday.
The temperatures are also going to cool down some next week as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 50s and low to mid 60s on Monday; the 50s and upper 40s on Tuesday; and the mid to upper 40s and low 50s on Wednesday. It is also going to be a bit breezy next week as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph.
