A WINTER STORM WATCH has been issued for much of northern Montana for Thursday into Friday.
A storm will move in for Thanksgiving Day with increasing snow and eventually decreasing temperatures as an arctic airmass moves in. Unfortunately, cold and more snow will create some difficulty for travelers before and after the holiday. But before the Thanksgiving storm, a round of light snow will move into western Montana Tuesday night. Most of this snow will be west of the Divide and in the mountains. Some snow will fall around Helena up to Great Falls Wednesday morning, but there will be little to no accumulation in most of the lower elevations. The mountain passes and the mountains like the Continental Divide, the Big Belts and the Bridgers will see several inches. The snow will taper off through the morning with some sun breaking through the clouds in the afternoon. Highs will be in the 30s and 40s. Thanksgiving will have some snow move through the state. A little light snow will move through the Helena area in the morning. The steadiest snow will be along the Rocky Mountain Front and out the Hi-Line later in the day. Highs will range from the 20s and 30s up north, to the 40s around Helena and south of there. Snow will spread across most of the state Thursday night into Friday morning. Black Friday will likely have areas of snow through the day with temperatures falling through the 10s and 20s. Most of the snow will come to an end by Friday evening. Saturday morning temperatures will fall into the -0s and 0s. Saturday will be partly to mostly cloudy with a few snow showers. The snow should not add much to the accumulation, but most roads will be snow covered and slippery. Highs will be in the 0s, 10s and 20s. Temperatures will fall into the single digits above and below 0 by Sunday morning. Sunday will be a partly to mostly cloudy day with very cold temperatures in the 0s and 10s for highs. Winter is upon us, and with a lot of traveling over the Thanksgiving holiday, be prepared for harsh winter conditions. Make sure to have a winter survival pack in your vehicle so you get to your destination safely.
Have a great day,
Curtis Grevenitz
Chief Meteorologist
