MISSOULA — A large Pacific trough of low pressure will continue throwing moisture our way in a southwesterly flow Thursday. Expect a mix of clouds and sun with those scattered showers and embedded thunderstorms.
The trough will begin to move inland Thursday night with a more southerly flow now. That will usher in a larger swath of moisture mainly directed at west central and southwest Montana into Friday. Highs will be in the mid to upper 60s for northwest Montana Friday (with patchy AM fog) and upper 50s to mid 60s elsewhere with rain.
Heading into the weekend, the trough looks to dig into the central Rockies allowing a few shots of cooler air to be pulled in.
Highs should top out in the upper 50s for Saturday with low to mid 50s for Sunday. Our best bet for showers across western Montana will be Saturday although a few will linger (especially in southwest Montana and along the Divide) on Sunday. During this time, snow levels could drop to roughly 5,000’. We have our first Winter Storm Watch of the season issued by NWS Missoula for Saturday night into early Sunday, too.
We’ll clear out quickly by Sunday night as the system begins to exit. While many of us have already seen our first frost of the season, we could very well see our first widespread hard freeze Monday morning.
As of now, early next week is shaping up to be gorgeous - mainly sunny skies with highs around 60s for Monday and into the mid 60s for Tuesday & Wednesday.
