A HIGH WIND WARNING remains in effect for the Rocky Mountain Front, the Cut Bank area, and Cascade, Fergus, and Judith Basin counties until 11pm Tuesday.
A HIGH WIND WARNING remains in effect for the Big Timber and Judith Gap areas until 5pm Wednesday.
A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect for the Butte/Blackfoot region, the Potomac/Seeley Lake region, and the Glacier area until 11am Wednesday.
It was a windy day today in central and western portions of north-central Montana as peak wind gusts were over 60 mph in some locations. The wind will diminish some this evening and early tonight, but it will continue to be gusty in a lot of areas as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 30 mph, and wind gusts over 40 mph are possible. Widespread windy conditions are then expected tomorrow as a cold front passes through our area. Sustained wind speeds in a lot of locations are going to be between 15 and 35 mph, and wind gusts over 50 mph are possible. This wind will be coming out of the west. The wind will then diminish for most east of the Rocky Mountain Front tomorrow evening.
Snow has developed along the Divide this afternoon and mountain passes, including Marias Pass and Rogers Pass, are pretty slick this evening. Snow, heavy at times, will continue to fall along the Divide and along the Rocky Mountain Front tonight. Around the Helena area, there are going to be some scattered snow/rain showers around east of the Divide later on tonight. In north-central Montana, a couple isolated snow/rain showers are possible east of the Rocky Mountain Front late tonight, but most locations will be dry.
Tomorrow, there will be some scattered snow/rain showers around the Helena area, generally during the morning and in the higher terrain, and there will be a few snow and rain showers around in north-central Montana, generally during the morning and in the higher terrain/in eastern portions of north-central Montana, as the cold front passes through. It will be partly to mostly cloudy initially tomorrow, but the cloud cover will diminish during the morning, with mostly sunny skies expected from late morning through the evening.
Here is the detailed forecast:
In Glacier National Park, up to two feet of snow is possible through tomorrow evening. At mountain pass level along the Divide, up to 10” of snow is possible through tomorrow evening. This snow will make travel difficult tonight and tomorrow morning at and above mountain pass level, so use extreme caution when driving and give yourself some extra time to get to where you need to go. Passes that will be impacted include MacDonald Pass, Marias Pass, and Rogers Pass. Elsewhere, <1” of snow is expected, although the Little Belts may receive up to 3” of snow.
Lows tonight are going to be in the 30s and mid to upper 20s. Highs tomorrow will be in the 30s and low to mid 40s, with the temperatures falling in some locations as the day goes on.
It will continue to be windy on Thursday along the Rocky Mountain Front as gusts up to 60 mph are possible and it will be gusty on Thursday east of the Rocky Mountain Front as gusts up to 50 mph are possible. It is also going to be partly to mostly sunny on Thursday with a few snow showers around, generally in the mountains. Thursday is also going to be the coldest day of the next week for a lot of us as highs are only going to be in the 30s and upper 20s.
On Friday, it is going to be partly to mostly cloudy and mostly dry. It is also going to be chilly on Friday in northeastern Montana as highs are going to be in the 20s, and it is going to be cool on Friday in central and north-central Montana as highs are going to be in the 30s and low 40s. The wind will be a bit weaker on Friday, but it will still be a breezy day with 10-25 mph sustained winds.
Warmer temperatures return this weekend as highs are going to be in the 40s and low to mid 50s (30s in northeastern Montana on Saturday) as an upper-level ridge builds into our area. It is also going to be mainly dry this weekend, with partly cloudy skies on Saturday and mostly cloudy skies on Sunday. Gusty winds are also expected this weekend as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 30 mph, and wind gusts over 40 mph are possible.
Next week will start off breezy and mild as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph, and highs are going to be in the 40s and low to mid 50s. It is also going to be partly cloudy and mainly dry early next week as an upper-level ridge remains in control of our weather.
