A HIGH WIND WARNING is in effect for the Rocky Mountain Front and the Cut Bank area from 11pm Monday until 11pm Tuesday and for portions of central Montana from 8am until 11pm Tuesday.
A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect for the Glacier area from 5pm Tuesday until 11am Wednesday.
It was a breezy and mild start to the week and there have been some scattered rain and snow showers around today as well. Tonight, there are going to be some scattered rain/freezing rain/snow showers around in eastern portions of north-central Montana, generally before 9pm, and there are going to be scattered snow showers around the Helena area, generally before midnight, as a disturbance continues to impact the state. There will also be some snow showers along the Divide tonight. Accumulations will be light tonight, <1” in the lower elevations and <3” in the mountains. That being said, roads will still be slick in some areas, so be careful when driving tonight and tomorrow morning.
It is also going to be mostly cloudy tonight around Helena and partly cloudy tonight in north-central Montana. The wind will increase tonight along the Rocky Mountain Front, with strong winds (gusts over 60 mph) developing after 10pm. East of the Rocky Mountain Front, it will be breezy tonight with 10-25 mph sustained winds, and the wind will get stronger during the second half of the night. Lows tonight will be in the 20s and low to mid 30s.
Here is the detailed forecast:
Tomorrow will be partly to mostly cloudy and mainly dry in north-central Montana east of the Divide/Rocky Mountain Front. Along the Divide and Rocky Mountain Front, snow is likely tomorrow, generally during the afternoon/evening. Around Helena, it is going to be cloudy tomorrow and there will be a few snow showers around, generally in the mountains. Snow will continue to fall along the Divide and Rocky Mountain Front tomorrow night, while there will be some scattered snow showers, possibly mixing in with some rain, around the Helena area, generally after midnight. In north-central Montana, it will be mostly dry tomorrow night.
On Wednesday, there will be some scattered snow showers around the Helena area, generally during the morning. North-central Montana will be mostly dry. Skies will also clear out as we go through Wednesday, with partly to mostly sunny skies expected overall.
The snow will pile up along the Divide later tomorrow through Wednesday as up to two feet of snow is possible in the higher terrain and up to 10” of snow is possible over Marias Pass and Rogers Pass. The mountains around Helena, including the Little Belts, will also pick up some good snow as up to 8” of snow is possible. In the lower elevations around Helena, <1” of snow is expected, while along the Rocky Mountain Front, up to 3” of snow is possible in the lower elevations.
Roads may be slick in the lower elevations tomorrow night into Wednesday morning. At and above mountain pass level, roads will be snow-covered/slick later tomorrow into Wednesday. Passes that will be impacted include Kings Hill Pass, MacDonald Pass, Marias Pass, and Rogers Pass, so use extreme caution if you are going to be traveling over any of those passes.
Tomorrow and Wednesday will be windy days as gusts between 60 and 75 mph are possible along the Rocky Mountain Front and in the Cut Bank area and gusts between 40 and 60 mph are possible out across the plains. The weakest wind the next two days will be in the valleys where gusts will generally remain below 40 mph. It is also going to be cool tomorrow and Wednesday as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 30s and low to mid 40s.
More wind is expected on Thursday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 30 mph, and wind gusts over 45 mph are possible. It is also going to be partly cloudy on Thursday and there will be some isolated snow showers around in the higher terrain. Cooler temperatures are also expected on Thursday as highs are going to be in the 30s and upper 20s.
The temperatures will warm back up Friday and this weekend as an upper-level ridge builds into the area. Highs on Friday are going to be in the 30s and low 40s (20s in northeastern Montana) and highs this weekend are going to be in the 40s and low 50s (30s in northeastern Montana on Saturday). Friday and Saturday will be partly cloudy and mostly dry, and Sunday will be mostly cloudy and dry. Gusty winds will continue on these three days in the higher terrain, along the Rocky Mountain Front, and out across the plains as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 30 mph, and gusts over 40 mph are possible.
