A HIGH WIND WARNING is in effect for the lower elevations in Cascade County and Judith Basin County as well as central/eastern Glacier County, central Pondera County, and western Toole County from 11pm Friday until 8pm Saturday.
A WINTER STORM WARNING is in effect for the Rocky Mountain Front until 5am Sunday.
A WINTER STORM WATCH is in effect for portions of central Montana east of the Divide, including the Rocky Mountain Front, Cascade County, Fergus County, Jefferson County, Judith Basin County, portions of Lewis and Clark County, and Meagher County from 5am/5pm Sunday until 5am Tuesday.
We are going to have mostly cloudy skies tonight with a few snow, freezing rain, and rain showers around, generally along the Hi-Line, around Helena, and in the mountains. For tomorrow, we are going to have partly cloudy skies in north-central Montana with some isolated snow and rain showers around, generally along the Hi-Line and in the mountains. Around Helena, we are going to have partly to mostly cloudy skies tomorrow with snow showers likely (possibly mixing in with a little rain at times). A few snow squalls are also possible tomorrow, so please be careful when traveling.
On Sunday, we are going to have mostly cloudy to overcast skies with scattered areas of light to moderate snow around, especially during the afternoon/evening and generally in locations south of the Hi-Line.
In the lower elevations, a lot of locations will receive less than 1” of snow through Sunday evening, but around Helena and in locations in Fergus County, Judith Basin County, southern/eastern Cascade County and southern/eastern Chouteau County, as well as in locations right next to the Rocky Mountain Front, like Browning, that’s where 1-4” of snow is expected through Sunday evening. In the mountains in central Montana east of I-15, 3-8” of snow is expected through Sunday evening. In the Rockies, 4-12” of snow is expected through Sunday evening, with possibly up to 2 feet of snow in Glacier National Park. Be prepared for slippery roads in the lower elevations on Sunday and slippery roads at and above mountain pass level for a lot of this weekend.
We are also going to continue to have above average temperatures tonight and tomorrow as lows tonight are going to be in the 20s and 30s in most locations and highs tomorrow are going to be in the mid to upper 30s and low to mid 40s in most locations. Tomorrow will be our last mild day for a while, so make sure you enjoy it! On Sunday, it will be a lot colder as highs are going to be in the 0s, 10s, and low to mid 20s, with the warmest temperatures around Helena.
It is also going to be very windy along the Rocky Mountain Front tonight and tomorrow as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 30 and 50 mph, and wind gusts up to 75 mph are possible. This wind combined with heavy snow in the Glacier area, including over Marias Pass, will make for difficult to impossible travel through tomorrow evening as blizzard conditions are likely, so try and avoid traveling in this area if you can.
East of the Rocky Mountain Front, we are going to have increasing wind tonight, with widespread gusty to strong winds around tomorrow as wind gusts up to 60 mph are possible between the Rocky Mountain Front and I-15 as well as along the MT-200 highway corridor in Cascade and Judith Basin Counties, and gusts over 40 mph are possible elsewhere. In the Helena valley, it will be a bit breezy tomorrow as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph.
On Sunday, there is going to be a lot less wind, but it will continue to be a little breezy in some areas as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 5 and 20 mph.
Widespread snow is then likely on Monday and Tuesday, with the snow tapering off and the skies clearing out from west to east on Wednesday as this storm system finally leaves our area. Sunday evening through Wednesday morning is when we will see the bulk of the snow accumulation from this storm in north-central Montana.
There is still some uncertainty in regards to snow amounts with this storm, but from this evening through midday Wednesday, the highest snow amounts will be in central and southern Montana and the lowest snow amounts will be in northern Montana, specifically along the Hi-Line. Right now, it looks like the Hi-Line will receive ~2-8” of snow through Wednesday. South of the Hi-Line in central and north-central Montana, ~5-12” of snow is possible through Wednesday, with the Lewistown area possibly receiving 8-16” of snow. In the mountains, up to two feet of snow is possible through Wednesday. Make sure you stay tuned to KRTV and KXLH for the latest updates as these snow amounts will likely need to be tweaked some in the coming days. Roads are also going to be slick/snow-covered for most of next week, so please use extreme caution when driving.
It is also going to be bitterly cold on Monday and Tuesday as highs are going to be in the -0s and 0s, with lows in the -0s and -10s. It will then be a touch warmer on Wednesday as highs are going to be in the 0s and low to mid 10s. There is also going to be a little breeze around on these three days as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 5 and 20 mph, so wind chills may get as low as -40° in some areas.
We are then going to have partly cloudy skies on Thursday with a few isolated snow showers around in north-central Montana and some scattered snow showers around Helena. A little more light snow is then possible on Friday as another disturbance passes through our area. It is also going to be warmer on these two days as highs are going to be in the teens and low 20s.
