You read that right - an entire month's worth of precipitation could fall in parts of Montana through the holiday weekend. There may be some changes yet but heavy rain and heavy mountain snow is likely. One change over the last few days is the possibility of heavier precipitation over the southern half of the state with lighter rain up on the Hi-Line. There will be very wet stretched this weekend, but there will also be some drier periods especially on Saturday and early Sunday. The first in a series of storm systems is moving into western Montana Thursday evening. Scattered showers and thunderstorms will continue through Thursday night and Friday morning. Friday is a big travel day ahead of the holiday weekend, and there will be scattered showers and thunderstorms across the state, but there also will be stretches of precipitation-free weather. As the cold front crosses the state, the wind will pick up as well. Highs will be in the 60s west, 70s central, and 80s in eastern Montana. Unfortunately this weekend looks stormy. There will be a few showers around, mainly in the mountains on Saturday. Saturday is probably the driest day over the weekend. Showers will increase through the afternoon and evening from southwest to northeast. Much of the Hi-Line will have a dry day. Highs will be in the 60s and 70s, and the day does not look terrible. Sunday will have rain and mountain snow increasing through the day. By Sunday afternoon, a lot of Montana could be looking at wet weather but the heaviest will be in the southern half of the state. Highs will be down in the 50s and 60s with mostly cloudy or overcast skies. Rain will continue Sunday night with lowering snow levels. Memorial Day will be wet and cool with highs in the 40s and 50s. Significant snow is likely in the mountains. Right now, snow levels could drop below 5000'. There is potential that wet snowflakes could mix in with rain even lower than that. Be prepared for some wet and cool conditions this weekend, especially if you're heading up into the higher terrain. This storm may linger through Tuesday into Wednesday. When all is said and done, some areas in the lower elevations could be looking at 1-3 inches of rain, with up to 1-3 FEET of snow in the mountains, which is about a month's worth of precipitation. At least this storm will really put a dent into the drought.
Curtis Grevenitz
Chief Meteorologist
