A WIND CHILL ADVISORY is in effect for north-central Montana until 11am Saturday and for northeastern Montana until 3am Sunday. Wind chills as low as 20 to 45 below zero are possible.
A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect for the western Teton County and northern Lewis and Clark County until 6am Saturday. There are going to be areas of blowing snow around tonight as winds are going to be gusting as high as 50 mph. Up to 1 inch of new snow accumulation is also possible tonight.
A BLIZZARD WARNING is in effect for western Glacier County and western Pondera County until 12pm Sunday. Ground blizzard conditions are expected as winds are going to be gusting as high as 55 to 70 mph. Up to 7” of new snow accumulation is also possible along the Rocky Mountain Front.
A BLIZZARD WARNING is also in effect for eastern Glacier County, northern Lewis and Clark County, central Pondera County, western Teton County, and western Toole County from 6am Saturday until 12pm Sunday. Ground blizzard conditions are expected as winds are going to be gusting as high as 55 to 70 mph. Up to 7” of new snow accumulation is also possible along the Rocky Mountain Front.
A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect for Cascade County, Judith Basin County, central Lewis and Clark County, and northern Meagher County from 12am/6am Saturday until 9pm Saturday/12am Sunday. There are going to be areas of blowing snow around as winds are going to be gusting as high as 35 to 45 mph. Also, up to 6” of new snow accumulation is possible in the Little Belt Mountains.
In many locations, the lows tonight are going to occur this evening as the temperatures are going to rise as we go through the night. It is then going to be warmer tomorrow than it was today as highs in many locations are going to be in the 20s and 30s. However, along central and eastern portions of the Hi-Line, the arctic air is going to hang around for one more day as highs tomorrow are only going to be in the single digits. The temperatures are then going to warm up for everyone on Sunday with widespread highs in the 30s and 40s.
These warmer temperatures are going to be accompanied by some wind though. Along the Rocky Mountain Front, we are going to have gusty winds around tonight as wind gusts up to 50 mph are going to be possible at times. It is then going to be very windy tomorrow and tomorrow night along and just east of the Rocky Mountain Front as wind gusts up to 70 mph are going to be possible at times. This wind is going to create ground blizzard conditions, especially tomorrow and tomorrow night. If possible, please do not travel in this area until Christmas Day when the wind diminishes.
It is also going to be breezy later on tonight and tomorrow in portions of central and north-central Montana as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph, and wind gusts up to 40 mph are going to be possible at times. There are then going to be widespread gusty winds around tomorrow night in central and north-central Montana as wind gusts up to 50 mph are going to be possible at times. This wind is then going to diminish from west to east on Sunday. There are also going to be areas of blowing snow around tomorrow and tomorrow night in some of the mountains in central Montana and in portions of the plains, so you may run into areas of reduced visibility and you may have to deal with slick roads.
For tonight, we are going to have overcast skies with some areas of light snow around, especially around the I-15 corridor. Light snow accumulations of a coating to a couple inches are possible in locations that do see some of this snow. Some of this snow is going to linger into tomorrow morning, but will gradually taper off as the morning goes on. There are then going to be some scattered rain and snow showers around tomorrow afternoon/evening and early tomorrow night as a disturbance passes through our area. Although the precipitation may fall as rain in some locations, with road surfaces still being extremely cold, some of this rain may freeze on contact and create icy conditions, so please be careful if you are going to be traveling anywhere tomorrow. We are also going to have partly to mostly cloudy skies tomorrow.
On Christmas Day, there are going to be some more scattered rain and snow showers around as yet another disturbance passes through our area. We are also going to have partly to mostly cloudy skies on Christmas.
On Monday, we are going to have mostly cloudy to overcast skies and mainly dry conditions. There are then going to be some scattered lower elevation rain and mountain snow showers around on Tuesday, generally during the afternoon and evening, as another disturbance begins to approach our area. We are then going to have partly cloudy skies on Wednesday with a few isolated rain and snow showers around, generally in the mountains, as this disturbance leaves our area.
It is also going to continue to be breezy on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph, and this wind is going to be coming out of the southwest. We are also going to have above average temperatures on these three days as highs are going to be in the 40s on Monday and Tuesday and the upper 30s and low to mid 40s on Wednesday.
On Thursday and Friday, we are going to have partly cloudy skies and mostly dry conditions. It is also going to be colder on these two days as highs are going to be back in the 30s and low 40s. There is also going to be a bit of a breeze around on these two days as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph.
