MISSOULA — High pressure has built over the region and will continue through Thursday with dry conditions.
Watch the forecast:
Valley fog and low stratus are expected as the cold, dense air gets trapped in valley locations and inversions strengthen over time. This has been very evident across the Flathead and Mission valleys, as well as for portions of the Kootenai/Cabinet Region.
Freezing fog can leave a thin, icy glaze on roads and overpasses - even when it isn't "snowing." Additionally, with light winds and therefore not a lot of mixing, air stagnation is becoming increasingly noticeable.
Pollutants from industry, automotives, wood stoves and eventually holiday fireworks will only continue to worsen air quality and hazy skies near the most populated areas.
The ridge looks to breakdown by Thursday overnight. There’s likely going to be a period of mixed precipitation (including freezing rain) for our valleys as our cold pools remain in place.
Snow levels south of I-90 look to rise quickly above 4,500’ as warmer air moves in (hence the chance of freezing rain), but across Northwest Montana, snow levels could stay at valley floors through early Friday and not warm until later in the day, making that the best day for freezing rain potential.
While it’s not expected to be a major system, we could see light pass level accumulations before snow levels potentially rise above, changing precipitation to rain.
Stay tuned!
Watch the 24/7StormTrackerWeather stream below:
