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Arctic air begins to arrive on Wednesday

Scattered areas of snow around on Wednesday as well
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WX Headlines 1-9-2024
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A HIGH WIND WARNING remains in effect for a lot of central and north-central Montana until 12am Wednesday (until 5am Wednesday for southwestern Phillips County).

A WINTER STORM WARNING is in effect for the East Glacier area until 5am Thursday.

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect for the Rocky Mountain Front until 5am Thursday.

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect for Blaine, Chouteau, and Hill counties from 9pm Tuesday until 9am Wednesday.

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect for some of the mountains in central Montana until 5am Wednesday.

A WINTER STORM WATCH is in effect for the Rocky Mountain Front and portions of central Montana from 5am Thursday until 5pm Friday.

A WIND CHILL ADVISORY is in effect for the Hi-Line and the Rocky Mountain Front from 12pm Wednesday until 5am/11am Thursday. Wind chills between -25° and -35° are possible.

There are going to be scattered areas of snow around tonight and tomorrow, especially in north-central Montana, as an arctic front passes through our area. There are then going to be some scattered snow showers around tomorrow night, generally before midnight. We are also going to have increasing clouds tonight, with mostly cloudy to overcast skies tomorrow and tomorrow night.

Between this evening and Thursday morning, 10 to 20 inches of new snow accumulation is expected in the Glacier National Park area; 3 to 12 inches of new snow accumulation is expected along the southern Rocky Mountain Front; 1 to 6 inches of new snow accumulation is expected in the Browning area as well as in Blaine, Chouteau, and Hill counties; and less than 3 inches of snow accumulation is expected in all other locations. This snow will create slippery road conditions, so please be careful when driving and give yourself some extra time to get to where you need to go.

It was windy today and we are going to continue to have gusty to strong winds tonight, but the wind will gradually get weaker as the night goes on, especially after midnight. The wind direction is also going to shift from the southwest to the north as we go through tonight as an arctic front works its way southward through north-central Montana. It is then going to be breezy tomorrow in northeastern Montana as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph, and it is going to be a little breezy elsewhere as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 5 and 20 mph.

Falling temperatures are expected tonight and tomorrow, with tomorrow’s high temperatures occurring at midnight tonight. Tomorrow morning, temperatures are going to be in the single digits and teens in north-central Montana and the teens and 20s in central Montana. By tomorrow evening, most locations will be in the -0s, 0s, and 10s, with lows tomorrow night in the -0s and 0s in most locations.

Widespread snow is then likely on Thursday and Friday, especially from Thursday afternoon through Friday morning, as a stronger disturbance passes through our area. In the mountains and along the Rocky Mountain Front, 5 to 12 inches of snow accumulation is expected, while in the lower elevations, 1 to 6 inches of snow accumulation is expected. We are also going to have overcast skies through Friday morning, with decreasing clouds Friday afternoon and evening.

The temperatures are also going to get significantly colder over these two days as highs on Thursday are going to be in the 0s and -0s; lows Thursday night are going to be in the -10s and -20s in a lot of locations; and highs on Friday are going to be in the -10s. It is also going to be a bit breezy in some areas on these two days as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph, making for dangerously cold wind chills.

Dangerously cold temperatures will stick around for this weekend as lows Saturday morning and Sunday morning are going to be in the -20s and -30s, and wind chills as low as 55 below zero are possible. Also, highs on Saturday are going to be in the -10s, and highs on Sunday are going to be in the -0s and -10s. Thankfully, the wind will be on the lighter side this weekend, or the wind chills could be even worse than what is already possible.

We are also going to have partly cloudy skies on Saturday with a chance of snow around the Helena area and a slight chance of snow in north-central Montana as a storm system might work its way into our area from the southwest. We are then going to have partly cloudy skies on Sunday with a few isolated snow showers around in central Montana as this storm system leaves our area.

Somewhat nicer weather is then expected on Monday as we are going to have partly cloudy skies, mostly dry conditions, and warmer temperatures as highs are going to be in the 0s above zero in a lot of locations. It is also going to be a little bit breezy on Monday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 5 and 20 mph.

Some more scattered snow is then possible on Tuesday as the next disturbance begins to impact our area. It is also going to be warmer and a bit breezy on Tuesday as highs are going to be in the teens and low to mid 20s, and sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph.