WINTER WEATHER ALERTS remain in effect for portions of central and eastern Montana through 5am/8am Saturday.
A COLD WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect for northeastern Montana until 7am Sunday and for northern Blaine County until 10am Saturday.
It has been a frigid day today in north-central Montana as the temperatures have been in the single digits above and below zero for the entire day. It has also been a snowy day today in locations east of I-15, where some places like Lewistown have received around a foot of snow over the past day. Due to this snow, roads are snow-packed in a lot of areas, so use caution when driving and give yourself some extra time to get to where you need to go. Around and west of I-15, less snow fell today (less than 2 inches in many spots), so roads are generally just a bit slick.
Around the Helena area, a wintry mix of rain, freezing rain, and snow fell last night into this morning, creating extremely icy conditions. Throughout the afternoon and evening, it has been mostly dry, but roads are still pretty slick from the ice and snow that fell earlier today, so be careful when driving.
Here is the weekend forecast:
Snow will continue to fall tonight in north-central Montana, generally in locations east of I-15, and there will be some rain, freezing rain, and snow tonight along the Rocky Mountain Front and the Continental Divide. This precipitation will start to taper off as we get closer to sunrise. There will be some lingering snow showers around tomorrow morning, generally in and around Fergus County, but those snow showers will quickly taper off with dry conditions expected throughout the state by lunchtime. The skies will also begin to clear out later on tomorrow, so some of us will get to see some blue sky and sunshine.
The bulk of the snow accumulation is now done with, but up to 4” of additional snow accumulation is possible east of I-15 in north-central Montana, with an area of 4-8” of new snow possible in eastern Chouteau County, southern Blaine County, southern Phillips County, and northern Fergus County. Around and west of I-15 in north-central Montana, less than 1” of new snow is expected in most spots, and little to no new snow accumulation is expected around Helena. Roads will continue to remain slick and/or snow-packed through tomorrow, so please be careful when driving!
In north-central Montana, it is going to be frigid tonight as lows are going to be in the -0s and 0s, with lows in the -10s in northeastern Montana. Tomorrow will be another cold day as highs are going to in the 0s and 10s in a lot of north-central Montana east of I-15, but around and west of I-15 and along Highway 87/200, warmer temperatures are expected tomorrow as highs are going to be in the upper teens, 20s, and low to mid 30s.
Around the Helena area, a wide range of temperatures is expected tonight as lows are going to range from the 0s in Great Falls to the 30s south of Helena. Tomorrow will then be a mild day with highs in the upper 30s and low to mid 40s.
Gusty winds will continue through early tonight along the Divide/Rocky Mountain Front and in/around the higher terrain in central Montana. It is then going to be breezy in those same areas later tonight and tomorrow with 10-25 mph sustained winds. Elsewhere, there will be little to no wind tonight and tomorrow.
Warmer and breezier weather returns on Sunday. Highs on Sunday are going to be back in the 40s and low 50s in most locations, so it is going to feel really nice outside. However, it is also going to be breezy as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph, and wind gusts over 40 mph are possible. Along the Rocky Mountain Front, it will be very windy on Sunday as gusts over 70 mph are possible. We are also going to have partly to mostly cloudy skies and dry conditions on Sunday.
Gusty to strong winds are expected Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday as gusts over 70 mph will be possible along the Rocky Mountain Front, and gusts over 50 mph will be possible out across the plains, with the strongest wind expected on Tuesday and Wednesday. It is also going to be mild on Monday and Tuesday as highs are going to be in the 40s and low to mid 50s. Still mild, but a little cooler on Wednesday with highs in the upper 30s and low to mid 40s.
Monday will be a partly to mostly cloudy and dry day. On Tuesday, there are going to be some scattered rain and mountain snow showers around Helena and some isolated rain and mountain snow showers in north-central Montana. There are then going to be scattered rain and snow showers around on Wednesday as a stronger disturbance passes through the state.
On Thursday and Friday, we are going to have partly to mostly cloudy skies with a chance of rain and snow showers in north-central Montana and scattered rain and snow showers around Helena as a couple more disturbances impact the state. It is also going to be cool on these two days as highs are going to be in the 30s and low to mid 40s in most locations. Thursday will be a breezy day with 10-20 mph sustained winds, and Friday will be another windy day with 15-30 mph sustained winds.
