Widespread precipitation is expected from tonight through early Saturday morning as an upper level storm system over the Pacific Northwest sends a bunch of moisture into our area. In Eastern Montana, scattered rain showers are expected from tonight through early Saturday morning.
In Central Montana, snow is likely in the mountains and a mix of rain and snow is likely in the valleys from now through Saturday morning. In the valleys in Central Montana, primarily rain is expected tonight; a mix of rain and snow is expected tomorrow; primarily snow is expected tomorrow night and Friday morning; a mix of rain and snow is expected Friday afternoon; and then primarily snow is expected Friday night.
From this evening through Friday evening, between .75 inches and 1.25 inches of total precipitation is expected in most locations, with isolated locations receiving lower and higher amounts.
There is a Winter Storm Warning in effect for the Rocky Mountain Front from 9pm tonight through 9am Friday as 5 to 10 inches of snow accumulation is expected in the lower elevations, and 10 to 20 inches of snow accumulation is expected in the higher elevations. There is also a Winter Weather Advisory in effect for locations along the Rocky Mountain Front and the I-15 corridor as 1 to 4 inches of snow accumulation is expected in the lower elevations, and 4 to 10 inches of snow accumulation is expected in the higher elevations. This snow is going to create slippery road conditions, especially at night, so be careful if driving. There are also going to be some areas of reduced visibility around at times. This snow is also going to be wet and heavy, which means that some power outages are going to be possible.
To go along with the wet weather, it is also going to be cold tomorrow and Friday as highs are only going to be in the mid to upper 30s and low 40s in a lot of locations. Lows tonight are also going to be on the chilly side as lows are going to be in the mid 30s. It is then going to be cold tomorrow night and Friday night as lows are going to be in the upper 20s and low 30s.
Now since lows are going to be near or below freezing tomorrow night and Friday night, make sure you protect any sensitive plants/vegetation that you may have by taking them inside or covering them up. It is also going to be breezy tonight and tomorrow as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph, and wind gusts are going to be between 20 and 30 mph. There is then going to be a little bit of a breeze around tomorrow night and Friday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 15 mph, and wind gusts are going to be between 20 and 25 mph
Generally drier conditions are then expected on Saturday as this upper level storm system begins to work its way away from our area, although there are still going to be some lingering rain and snow showers around. Rain showers are then likely on Sunday, and there are going to be scattered rain showers around on Monday as this upper level storm system begins to work its way through our area. The temperatures are also going to warm up some over these three days as highs on Saturday are going to be in the mid 40s; highs on Sunday are going to be in the low to mid 50s; and highs on Monday are going to be in the upper 50s and low 60s. It is also going to be windy on Monday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 15 and 30 mph, and wind gusts are going to be between 20 and 30 mph.
We are then going to have a chance to see some more rain showers and even a few isolated thunderstorms on Tuesday and Wednesday as some disturbances pass through our area. The temperatures on these two days are also going to be a little bit below average for this time of year as highs are going to be in the low to mid 60s. It is also going to be breezy on Tuesday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph, and wind gusts are going to be between 20 and 30 mph.
