Sorry folks. It's a bit of a bummer that a cloud moved in as the northern lights came out last night. Much of the Helena and Great Falls area up to Glacier had a cloud develop and linger for hours. Central and eastern areas got a good showing of the aurora. There is a slight chance the aurora will be out again tonight as the solar storm is still around but just not as strong. Friday will be partly cloudy with a few lingering showers across far northeastern Montana but otherwise there will be no jokes for April Fool's Day. The first weekend in April will have one nice day and one not so nice day. Saturday will be the stormier day with showers of rain and snow in the lower elevations, snow flying in the mountains, a fair amount of cloud cover, strong west wind and coolish temperatures in the 40s and 50s. An isolated thunderstorm is possible in central and eastern areas later Saturday afternoon. Sunday will be a drier day with more sunshine and highs will rebound back into the 50s to near 60. Another storm with mixed precipitation in the lower elevations and snow in the mountains will move in for Monday and Tuesday. The wind will be very strong both Monday and Tuesday. Accumulating snow is a certainty in the mountains from Monday into Wednesday, but parts of north-central Montana could have accumulating snow and a lot of wind early next week. This storm's wind will have the greatest effect on Montana, but temperatures will be cold and areas of snow will fly all the way into Wednesday. The first half of April appears cool and showery, with multiple chances at snow. This is great news for the drought and mountain snow pack, although we are working from behind.
Curtis Grevenitz
Chief Meteorologist
