A HIGH WIND WATCH has been issued for East Glacier and the Rocky Mountain Front from Friday night through Saturday night.
Some cold air has been trapped in some of Montana's lower elevations like the Flathead, Bitterroot, Milk River and Helena Valleys. High pressure overhead has allowed the colder air to settle in these areas. Meanwhile, downsloping wind across the plains and some of the mountains has pushed out the cold air and temperatures have warmed up considerably. The quiet, mild weather is running on borrowed time as storminess will finally move in this weekend. The sunshine and fairly pleasant conditions will continue Friday with highs mainly in the 40s and 50s, 30s across far eastern Montana. Wind will be strong across the plains and up on the Continental Divide, gusting as high as 40mph. The valleys will see little to no wind. Saturday will start off partly cloudy with increasing clouds ahead of the next storm system. Temperatures will be warm in the 50s and even a few low 60s possible. A few isolated showers are possible in the afternoon and evening along a cold front. The mountains could have a few snow showers. It will be very windy across the state. Sunday will be mostly cloudy with widespread snow showers, cooler temperatures and stronger wind. A light coating up to an inch or two of accumulation is possible in the lower elevations with up to 6" in the mountains. Snow showers and blustery conditions will continue on Monday and a few more inches of snow could accumulate in the mountains. The lower elevations shouldn't expect to see more than an inch of accumulation.
TGIF,
Curtis Grevenitz
Chief Meteorologist
