MISSOULA — Skies will start off clear Friday morning before increasing clouds and snow showers develop by the afternoon.
Models have been trending slightly stronger over the past 24 hours for this upcoming system. With that being said, only light amounts of a trace-to-1" is expected in the valleys. The mountains, especially along the Montana/Idaho border could receive several inches of snow.
An overall dry day is expected Saturday with mostly cloudy skies and highs in the low 30s.
Sunday through Tuesday of next week, light off and on snow is expected each day. During this time temperatures will stay cold enough for precipitation to fall as snow for all elevations. With that being said, very little snow accumulations are expected in the valleys.
Starting Wednesday and continuing through the end of next week, an overall warmer weather set up is expected as models are indicating the potential for an "atmospheric river" to develop. These atmospheric rivers generally transport a lot of moisture and mild air to western Montana from the Pacific Ocean. The set up for this weather pattern is a period of moderate to heavy snow in the mountains with scattered rain and snow showers for the valleys.
We will continue to monitor this as we move through the weekend and continue into next week.
