MISSOULA — Cloudy skies and dry for this Thursday with highs reaching into the 40s once again around western Montana.
The first of two storm systems move in on Friday. This will bring snow to the mountains with rain showers in the valleys.
Showers will start in southwest Montana by early afternoon Friday and slowly track north into northwest Montana by Friday evening.
Another system will bring cooler air in on Saturday. This will allow snow to continue to fall in the mountains with a rain/snow mix in the valleys.
It looks like the best chance for accumulating valley snow will be Saturday night into Sunday morning as temperatures drop below freezing. Right now, only around 1" or less is expected, however, amounts will depend on how quickly rain/snow transitions to all snow. A quicker transition would mean higher snow amounts of 1"-to-3". We'll continue to monitor this over the next few days.
Despite what happens in the valleys, expect winter driving conditions over area passes starting Friday and continuing through the weekend.
