A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY remains in effect for portions of central and north-central Montana until 11pm Tuesday/5am Wednesday.
A WINTER STORM WARNING remains in effect for most of Fergus County until 5am Wednesday.
There have been scattered areas of light to moderate snow around throughout the day today, with Fergus County receiving the most snow thanks to northerly upslope flow. Roads were slick in a lot of areas this morning, but thanks to temperatures being in the low to mid 30s for most of the day, road conditions actually improved as the day went on in the lower elevations as the snow/ice on the roads was able to melt and the snow that fell during the day today melted on contact in most areas. At and above mountain pass level, roads have been slick/snow-packed throughout the day and still are right now.
Scattered snow showers will gradually taper off as the night goes on. In the lower elevations, less than 2” of new snow accumulation is expected (most will receive a coating or less of additional accumulation), while in the mountains, up to 6” of new snow is possible through tomorrow morning. Lows tonight will be in the -0s and 0s in northeastern Montana and the teens and low 20s elsewhere. With temperatures dropping well below freezing tonight, any moisture on the roadways from snowmelt/the precipitation that fell today will freeze, so please use extreme caution when driving tonight and tomorrow morning. There are also going to be patchy areas of freezing fog around tonight and tomorrow morning.
Tomorrow will be a nice day as we are going to have partly to mostly sunny skies and mostly dry conditions. Along the Hi-Line east of I-15, it will be cold tomorrow as highs are going to be in the mid to upper teens and low to mid 20s. Elsewhere, it will be cool tomorrow as highs are going to be in the upper 20s and low to mid 30s. Gusty winds are also expected tomorrow along the Rocky Mountain Front as gusts over 40 mph are possible.
There are then going to be some scattered snow and possibly rain showers around on Thursday, especially in locations east of I-15, as another disturbance impacts the state. It is also going to be breezy and warmer on Thursday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph and highs are going to be in the 30s in most locations. We are also going to have mostly cloudy skies on Thursday.
Another disturbance will bring more precipitation to the state Friday into Saturday. The precipitation will develop Friday afternoon/evening and gradually taper off as we go through Saturday. A lot of the precipitation that falls will be in the form of snow, but some rain will mix in at times in some of the lower elevations.
We are also going to have mostly cloudy to overcast skies on these two days. There will be a breeze around again on Friday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph. It is also going to be cool on these two days as highs are going to be in the 30s and mid to upper 20s in most spots (teens along the eastern half of the Hi-Line on Saturday).
On Sunday, we are going to have mostly cloudy skies with a few rain and snow showers around, generally in the mountains. Partly to mostly cloudy skies and mostly dry conditions are then expected on Monday.
Sunday and Monday will feature warmer temperatures as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 30s and low to mid 40s. Gusty to strong winds are also expected on these two days as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 30 mph, and gusts over 50 mph are possible.
