A WINTER STORM WARNING is in effect for the higher terrain near the Continental Divide and the central and southern mountains through Sunday.
A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect for the lower elevations of western and central Montana, including Helena and Great Falls through Sunday.
Winter is back! The first weekend of February will be a sloppy one with rain and snow, but eventually most locations will see a blanket of snow by the end of the weekend. While the sloppiness may be a bit of a nuisance, we need the moisture. Some areas, like Helena, could see it's entire average February monthly precipitation from this one storm. The precipitation will come in the form of rain and snow, and this storm will be heavily elevation dependent for snow totals. The lower elevations will see rain at the onset, with snow slow to mix in. Meanwhile the mountains will see steady to heavy snow throughout the weekend, leading to total accumulations that will top out between 1-2 feet! With the liquid in the lower elevations, snow accumulations will be limited to a few inches. Most of the accumulation in the lower elevations will occur through Saturday night into Sunday as temperatures cool. Highs will be down in the 30s and low 40s. Snow showers will taper off through Sunday. Another storm could bring significant snow to parts of the state around Wednesday into Thursday. At this point, Montana needs as much snow as possible to make up for lost ground.
Have a great weekend!
Curtis Grevenitz
Chief Meteorologist