MISSOULA — Winds will continue to diminish throughout the day, with our last Wind Advisory for the Butte/Blackfoot Region expected to expire at 7 p.m.
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Our biggest issue right now is the rain associated with this week’s Atmospheric River event. As expected, the plume of moisture associated with the AR shifted to the north on Wednesday night. It did, however, intensify further than expected.
The excessive rainfall, along with snow melt, has created flooding of various waterways across Lincoln County. We’ve seen the Flood Watch posted for that region the whole week come to fruition with warnings now in place.
The stream of moisture has shifted into west central Montana on Thursday afternoon, ultimately providing a lull for the northwest. Flood Watches still remain in place for Flathead, Lake, Mineral and Sanders counties in addition to Lincoln County.
Northwest Montana will see rain return overnight as the main plume shifts further north again into Friday. Lesser amounts are expected in the tune of 0.15”-0.30” for the valleys and 0.50”-1” in the already saturated mountains.
While those of us west of the Divide are dealing with significant warmth & moisture, an Arctic airmass has surged southward into central Montana. Great Falls saw a 52 mph wind gust and a 30° temperature drop within an hour as the front passed!
This cold air won’t make it fully into Western Montana, but will seep through the gaps in the Divid,e allowing precipitation to change into snow for eastern portions of the West Glacier & Potomac/Seeley Lake Regions overnight into Friday night with minor accumulation possible. A Winter Weather Advisory is in place from midnight tonight through 5 a.m. Saturday for this potential.
The current AR looks to move northward and out of the region by Friday night as a ridge of high pressure builds along the Pacific coast. The ridge should slide over the Northern Rockies by this weekend, causing a drying trend, but valley inversions along with fog and low stratus could become an issue.
The Northern Rockies appear to move back into an active weather pattern by Tuesday of next week.
Watch the 24/7 StormTracker Weather stream below:
