A HIGH WIND WARNING has been issued for most of northern and central Montana for Saturday and Sunday.
A major wind event will hit Montana this weekend with wind getting stronger through the weekend. Sunday afternoon and evening will have the strongest gusts, with many locations seeing peak speeds between 60-70mph. Power outages are possible, driving will be difficult especially for high profile vehicles and those pulling trailers. Blowing dust may also be an issue without any snow on the ground. Speaking of snow, there will be some in the mountains, mainly along and west of the Continental Divide. Mountain passes such as Lookout, Lolo, Lost Trail and Marias will have new snow and slippery travel conditions. The wind will ease up late on Sunday. Monday will be fairly quiet ahead of the next storm approaching the state. Tuesday will have some scattered areas of rain and snow in the morning hours over the lower elevations but precip will be light and spotty. The mountains will pick up several more inches of snow. Another storm will move through the state on Thursday with snow showers but once again accumulation will be limited to mainly the mountains. The month of January will be very mild with limited snow in the lower elevations east of the Continental Divide. The western United States is locked in a pattern that does not show much in the way of change anytime soon.
Happy New Year!
Curtis Grevenitz
Chief Meteorologist
