MISSOULA — Our leap day weather today will be very windy and wet as an atmospheric river sets up for the weekend.
Commute impacts will likely be felt for both the morning and afternoon but for different reasons.
In the morning, we'll see mountain passes continue to be snow-covered and slushy. In the evening, more widespread valley rain and gusty winds will make travel difficult.
The one thing that will be on our side today will be temperatures. Daytime highs are expected to reach 50s for some locations, with mid-to-upper 40s elsewhere.
A High Wind Advisory and a Winter Weather Advisory are both in place for today ahead of the cold front.
Right now, the front is looking pass through in the late afternoon right before the evening commute. The winds will pick up to be between 20 mph to 50 mph at that time and possibly down trees and lead to power outages.
The precipitation behind the cold front will start out as rain and eventually lead to late evening snowfall overnight tonight.
In essence, there are so many twists and turns with today's weather. Be prepared for strong winds and wet weather to impact road conditions.
Snowfall will likely continue into the weekend with temperatures returning back to the 20s and 30s.