MISSOULA - Talk about a weather whiplash! A potent trough of low pressure continues to move into the region providing mountain snow & valley rain (at first) with much cooler temps... a far cry from the record 82° Missoula tied Tuesday late afternoon!
Late Wednesday night/Thursday morning, snow levels will drop to around 2,000' to 4,000'. This will bring wet, accumulating snow to mainly higher valleys and mountain passes including Lookout, Lolo, Homestake and MacDonald. At this time, northwest Montana could see minor impacts due to snow Thursday morning. That shifts Thursday night into Friday morning further southward. If traveling, prepare for slushy roads and winter driving conditions - mostly at higher elevations, but it's very likely valleys will be impacted, too. Winter Weather Advisories are in effect from 6pm Wednesday through noon Friday for a good portion of western Montana.
As it stands, the best bet for valley accumulation (outside the Winter Weather Advisory locations) will be Thursday into Friday morning. Highs will drop further for Thursday & Friday into the mid 40s with decreasing snow showers throughout Friday. Storm total, I'd expect most valleys to pick up a few tenths of an inch to upwards of 1" of liquid precipitation... this is a good one for our snowpack, too, as the highest elevations (especially along the ID border in the Bitterroots and along the Divide/Missions/Swans) could see upwards of a foot to almost 2 feet!
This weekend will showcase cooler than average highs in the upper 40s to low 50s as we remain in a trough, but things look fairly dry with a mix of clouds and sun.
* One thing to note: We'll see some very chilly mornings (maybe record lows?) Friday - Monday, so now is the time to prepare if you've started any type of gardening or irrigation.
