A WINTER STORM WARNING is in effect for most of central and eastern Montana east of I-15 through Friday evening or Saturday morning.
A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect for part of central and north-central Montana through Friday evening or Saturday morning and for northeastern Montana through Saturday morning.
A COLD WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect for portions of the Hi-Line in north-central Montana until 10am Friday and for portions of northeastern Montana until 12pm Saturday.
An EXTREME COLD WARNING is in effect for part of northeastern Montana until 12pm Friday.
An arctic cold front has been working its way southward through central and eastern Montana during the day today. This morning, it was mild as temperatures were in the 40s and 50s in a lot of locations, but the temperatures quickly dropped behind that cold front and as of 5pm, most locations in north-central Montana are currently in the single digits and teens. Rain showers have also transitioned over to snow showers as the day has gone on, and roads are slick in many areas right now due to the flash freeze that occurred earlier today as well as the light to moderate snow that has been falling.
Here is the detailed forecast:
In north-central Montana, scattered snow showers will continue through early tonight. More widespread snow will then develop during the second half of the night. Tomorrow will be a snowy day as widespread snow is likely, with the heaviest snow falling in locations east of I-15. Snow continues tomorrow night, but will taper off during the second half of the night. On Saturday, we are going to have mostly cloudy skies with a few lingering snow showers around during the morning.
Around Helena, a mixture of rain, freezing rain, and snow showers is expected through early tonight. More widespread snow will then develop during the second half of the night. Snow is likely tomorrow morning, possibly mixing in with rain in some locations, but will taper off during the late morning. It will then be mostly dry tomorrow afternoon/evening and tomorrow night, just a few snow/rain showers, generally in the mountains. Saturday will then be mostly cloudy with a few lingering mountain snow showers during the morning.
Along the Rocky Mountain Front, 2-7” of snow is expected through midday Saturday, with over a foot of snow possible in the mountains. East of the Rocky Mountain Front and out to I-15, 1-6” of snow is expected, with isolated higher amounts. East of I-15 in north-central Montana, 5-15” of snow is expected. In northeastern Montana, 1-10” of snow is expected, with the amounts getting lower the further northeast you go. Around the Helena area, 0-5” of snow is expected, with the lowest snow amounts to the south of Helena. These forecasted snow amounts are on top of what has already fallen through early Thursday evening.
Difficult travel is expected through Saturday morning, especially in locations east of I-15 and in the higher terrain, so please use extreme caution when traveling and give yourself plenty of extra time to get to where you need to go.
The wind won’t be much of an issue tonight, but it will be a bit breezy (10-20 mph) in eastern portions of north-central Montana. It is then going to be gusty tomorrow and Saturday along the Divide, along the Rocky Mountain Front, and in/around the higher terrain in central Montana as gusts up to 50 mph are possible. Elsewhere, it is just going to be a little breezy (5-20 mph) tomorrow and Saturday.
It is also going to be frigid tonight and tomorrow in north-central Montana as lows tonight are going to be in the -0s and 0s and highs tomorrow are going to be in the 0s and 10s. The colder air won’t infiltrate the Helena area as much, so although it will be colder than it has been, it won’t be too bad as lows tonight are going to be in the teens, 20s, and 30s, and highs tomorrow are going to be in the 30s and 40s. Saturday will be another cold day with highs in the 0s and 10s along the Hi-Line and the teens and 20s south of the Hi-Line. Helena will have pleasant temperatures again with highs in the 40s.
Warmer air returns for Sunday and early next week as highs are going to be back in the 40s and low to mid 50s in most locations. The wind will begin to return on Sunday as it will be a breezy day with 10-25 mph sustained winds and gusts over 40 mph. Widespread gusty to strong winds are then expected Monday through Wednesday as gusts over 60 mph are possible along the Rocky Mountain Front and gusts over 40 mph are possible elsewhere. We are also going to have partly to mostly cloudy skies and mostly dry conditions on Sunday and Monday. There are then going to be some scattered rain and mountain snow showers around on Tuesday, generally around the Helena area, and there will be scattered rain and snow showers around on Wednesday.
