Butte-iful Weather on St. Patrick's Day Across Montana

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Thursday may have been one of the top #10 most beautiful days of the year with the sunshine, blue sky, comfortable temperatures and overall quality conditions. While the next few days may not be as nice, they won't be that bad either. While sunshine and warmth are generally welcomed by most, we do need some rain and snow for moisture. Temperatures could get even warmer next week, which would not be good for the snowpack. Another minor storm will move through on Friday with just a few isolated showers in the lower elevations, and snow showers in the mountains. Skies will be mostly cloudy for some areas, but overall it will be a partly cloudy day with above average temperatures. Saturday is the final day of winter and there will be increasing clouds ahead of the next storm system. Temperatures will be mild with highs in the 50s to around 60. A few showers and higher elevation snow showers are likely late Saturday evening as the storm moves in. Spring officially begins at 9:33am on Sunday. Ironically a new storm moving through the West will likely bring colder temperatures and a mix of rain and snow to Montana.
Accumulation of snow should be limited to the mountains, but the lower elevations could have a period of clouds with rain and snow through the day. Snow should accumulate a few inches near Bozeman and along I-90. It will be cooler with highs in the 30s and 40s. Early next week another warmup will ensue. Temperatures could reach the 60s on Tuesday and possibly even the lower 70s on Wednesday.
Have a great day and be safe.
Curtis Grevenitz
Chief Meteorologist