MISSOULA — After a dry day Friday with highs in the 40s our next system will bring rain and snow back Friday night into Saturday.
Steady snow will fall in the mountains, with the most widespread snow across northwest Montana. 6"-to-8" could fall over Marias Pass Friday night into Saturday. The valleys of northwest Montana will see some accumulating snow late Friday night into Saturday morning. With temperatures in the 40s Friday, snow amounts will greatly depend on how quickly temperatures can drop to that freezing mark. Precipitation looks to start out as a rain/snow mix before turning to all snow. Snow amounts of just a dusting-to-2" will be possible for the Flathead Valley and locations such as Troy and Libby. Higher amounts could be seen for locations along the Canadian border and closer to the divide (Columbia Falls, Eureka, West Glacier and Essex).
The valleys of west-central and southwest Montana look to stay warm enough so that precipitation starts out as a rain/snow mix late Friday before turning to all rain Saturday.
Winds will also pick up Saturday with gusts of 25-35 mph in the valleys and up to 50 mph in the mountains.
After a dry day Sunday, our next system will bring widespread snow Monday. This system has the potential to bring moderate to heavy snow to the mountains and light accumulations of a couple inches to the valleys. Stay tuned for exact details on this moving through the weekend.
And we're not done yet! Models are then showing another system moving in by around Thursday of next week bringing with it another round of snow for all of western Montana. So, it took a little while, but it looks like a much more winter feel is finally here.
