MISSOULA — A wintry system will impact the northern Rockies starting this afternoon with snow and the potential for black ice.
The first wave will arrive in Northwest Montana first on Monday before spreading southward tonight into Tuesday.
Generally, valley accumulations of 2”-5” are expected north of I-90, while areas along and south will see 1”-4”. Higher amounts are expected in the mountains.
Winter Weather Advisories cover the majority of the viewing area and are as follows:
- Kootenai/Cabinet Region (until noon Tuesday): 2”-5”
- Flathead/Mission valleys (until noon Tuesday): 2”-5” with 4”-8” in the Bigfork/Many Lakes Region
- Lower Clark Fork Region (until noon Tuesday): 2”-5”
- West Glacier & Potomac/Seeley Lake regions (until 5 p.m. Tuesday): 3”-7” with up to 10” in the Seeley/Swan. The Missions and Swan Mountains look to pick up half a foot to a foot and a half, while the Whitefish and Lewis Ranges see the lower end of that spectrum)
- Missoula/Bitterroot valleys (8 p.m. Monday - 2 p.m. Tuesday): 1”-4”
- Bitterroot/Sapphire mountains (8 p.m. Monday - 5 p.m. Tuesday): 4”-7”
- Butte/Blackfoot Region (8 p.m. Monday - 5 p.m. Tuesday): 1”-2” with 3”-5” for Homestake & MacDonald Passes along with the Georgetown Lake area.
Slick roads will be the primary concern. The Monday night and Tuesday morning commutes could be slippery, particularly over mountain passes like Lookout, Lolo, Marias and in the valleys of northwest Montana. Please allow extra time for travel and check road conditions before heading out!
After a brief lull Wednesday into Thursday (mostly cloudy with 30s), active weather looks to return to close out the week.
With the direction things are coming from, we could see one of two scenarios for Friday/Saturday: a sloppy mix of rain, snow and even freezing rain as warmer air advects into the region or (with our cooler air remaining in place) a snowier outcome. This is an evolving system as we are still a bit out, so we’ll keep you posted.
Watch the 24/7 StormTracker Weather stream below:
