A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY has been issued for areas east of the Rocky Mountain Front and the Continental Divide for Tuesday due to blowing snow.
Monday started out with more frigid temps as most of the state fell below 0. A minor warmup is on the way for Tuesday, with highs climbing into the 10s and 20s for much of the state. While these numbers aren’t particularly warm, these highs are 30-40 degrees warmer than most days so far this February. Downsloping wind off of the Continental Divide will push temperatures up but also push snow around. Blowing snow and reduced visibility is a possibility in the Winter Weather Advisory area. Wind gusts up to 35mph could reduce visibility below a half mile. Besides a slight warmup, most locations will have sunny skies for Tuesday. Snow will develop after midnight Tuesday into Wednesday and light snow will be spotty through the central and western areas of the state. Snow accumulation Wednesday, Wednesday night and Thursday will be light with generally a coating up to 2″ possible. Later Wednesday another surge of cold air will push south into the state. So while highs in the 20s will be common on Tuesday and Wednesday, 0s and -0s are likely for Thursday. Thursday night will be another with widespread lows below 0. Friday, another downsloping wind will push temperatures up into the 20s with a decent amount of sunshine. However, this harsh wintry pattern will continue with another cold front and snow moving through the state Saturday into Sunday. Temperatures will turn much colder yet again by Sunday, and snow will accumulate up to another 2-4″ from Saturday afternoon into Monday morning. While the coldest temperatures of this cold snap are likely behind us, dangerously cold values are likely at times through the end of the month into the beginning of March.
Stay warm!
Curtis Grevenitz
