MISSOULA — Light snow is falling around western Montana early this morning, it will begin to taper off during the morning, but be prepared for some slippery and snow covered roads for that morning commute.
Precipitation briefly lulls on this afternoon before picking up again Wednesday night through Friday.
The system for Thanksgiving will be a bit warmer bringing a wide range of precipitation.
Areas along and south of the I-90 corridor could see a mix of rain/snow or freezing rain on Thanksgiving morning for clearing with cloudy skies by the afternoon. Locations north of I-90 could see cold air linger in the valleys, bringing the chance for snow, rain/snow, or freezing rain. Northwest Montana will see precipitation through your Thanksgiving.
A Winter Storm Watch has been issued for the Glacier Region and east over Marias Pass for Thanksgiving afternoon into Friday afternoon. Heavy snow could set up for these locations as the mild weather system interacts with cold air moving across the divide.
As this cold air continues to move in, it will track from north to south Friday slowly transitioning an precipitation from rain to snow through the day. Valleys across northwest Montana will have the best chance to see accumulating as the cold air reaches here first.
the further south you travel, snow amounts decrease quickly as the warm air hangs on a bit longer leading to a more mixed bag of precipitation.
After all of this, we are still looking at cold temperatures for the weekend; however, models are now pushing the coldest air east of us. Right now, highs look to be in the low to mid-30s on Friday, then upper 20s to low 30s on Saturday and Sunday.
