There has been valley rain and mountain snow around throughout the day today west of the Divide, while east of the Divide, it has been cloudy and mostly dry for a lot of today, although there have been some light rain showers around this afternoon. As we go through this evening and tonight, more precipitation will work its way east of the Divide. Initially, the precipitation will be in the form of rain in the lower elevations and will be showery in nature. During the second half of the night, as some colder air moves in, this rain will mix in with and switchover to snow and the precipitation will become more widespread.
Here is the detailed forecast:
There will be areas of light to moderate snow around tomorrow morning, especially around Helena and in western portions of north-central Montana. There may also be some pockets of rain around tomorrow morning. This main area of precipitation will start to taper off during the late morning/early afternoon. There will be scattered rain, graupel, and snow showers around tomorrow afternoon/evening and tomorrow night as the storm system continues to impact the state. It is also going to be cloudy to mostly cloudy tomorrow and tomorrow night.
On Friday, it is going to be partly cloudy and there are going to be a few scattered snow, graupel, and rain showers around, especially in the mountains and especially during the morning.
The Rockies and the mountains in central and southwestern Montana will receive a healthy dose of snow from this storm as up to a foot of snow is possible, with some of the mountain ranges in southwestern Montana receiving over a foot of snow. A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect for most of the mountain ranges in central and southwestern Montana until 9am/3pm Thursday.
Up to 8” of snow is possible over some of the mountain passes, including Kings Hill Pass, MacDonald Pass, Marias Pass, and Raynolds Pass, through midday Friday, so use caution if you will be traveling over any of these passes tonight through Friday morning. In the lower elevations, due to warm surface temperatures and air temperatures being above freezing, a lot of the snow that falls will be able to melt, but up to 3” of snow is still possible, with higher amounts possible in the foothills of the mountains in central Montana. This means roads may be slippery in some areas tomorrow morning and Friday morning, so use caution when driving. Thankfully with the warmer temperatures, impacts to the roads will be more limited in the lower elevations.
This storm will also bring some beneficial moisture to portions of central Montana. Around the Helena area and in western portions of north-central Montana, .25” to .75” of precipitation (rain and the liquid equivalent of the snow that falls) is expected, with isolated locations receiving up to 1” of precipitation. In eastern portions of north-central Montana, <.2” of precipitation is expected through midday Friday.
It is going to be cool tonight as lows are going to be in the 20s and low to mid 30s, with the coldest temperatures along the eastern half of the Hi-Line. It is also going to be a bit breezy (10-20 mph) tonight in northeastern Montana. Tomorrow will be colder than the past several days have been as highs are only going to be in the mid to upper 30s and low to mid 40s. It is also going to be a bit breezy tomorrow as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 5 and 20 mph. Friday will be another cool day as highs are going to be in the 40s and low 50s. Gusty winds will return on Friday to the Rocky Mountain Front as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 15 and 30 mph. Elsewhere, it will be breezy on Friday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph.
This weekend will be a windy one as gusts over 80 mph are possible along the Rocky Mountain Front and gusts over 50 mph are possible east of the Rocky Mountain Front. Along the Rocky Mountain Front, sustained wind speeds this weekend are going to be between 30 and 50 mph. East of the Rocky Mountain Front, sustained wind speeds this weekend are going to be between 15 and 35 mph. It is also going to be mild this weekend as highs are going to be in the 50s and low to mid 60s in most locations. Saturday will be partly to mostly cloudy and dry. Sunday will be mostly cloudy with a few snow and rain showers possible, generally in the mountains and along the Hi-Line, as a disturbance begins to approach our area.
A wetter and colder weather pattern is expected next week. On Monday, there are going to be some scattered rain and snow showers around as a cold front passes through our area. It is also going to be colder on Monday as highs are going to be in the 40s and low 50s. Windy conditions will continue on Monday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 15 and 35 mph, and wind gusts over 50 mph are possible.
There are then going to be some scattered snow showers around on Tuesday and Wednesday as a couple more disturbances pass through the state. It is also going to be partly to mostly cloudy and chilly on these two days as highs are going to be in the 30s and low 40s. Gusty winds are also expected on these two days as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 30 mph.
