MISSOULA — We are looking at another sunny and clear day across the northern Rockies. The most difficult thing about today's forecast will be those temperatures.
Valleys with the most snow cover, Missoula and Seeley/Swan are standouts, look to have inversions along with cold air pools develop. This will keep temperatures chilly, hovering right around freezing today. The valleys along the Montana/Idaho border (Thompson Falls, Trout Creek, Libby, Troy) will see temperatures remain a bit cool as well topping out in the middle 30's. The Flathead, Mission and Bitterroot Valleys should be able to warm into the low to middle 40's today.
High pressure will weaken Saturday as our next storm system approaches. This will allow all valleys to break those inversions and warm into the low or even upper 40's. Expect some clouds in northwest Montana Saturday morning with sunny skies by the afternoon.
Sunday will bring a return to more active weather as a rain/snow mix develops in the valleys with snow in the mountains.
The best chance for valleys to see accumulating snow will be Sunday night into Monday morning as snow bands develop. Snow amounts will vary greatly and depend on where the heavier bands set up. For this reason, confidence is low on snow fall totals. For the time being, wintry travel conditions are possible Sunday night into the Monday the morning commute.
High pressure looks to start building back over the northern Rockies by Wednesday of next week. This will bring a return to dry conditions by the middle of the week.
