A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY continues for northeast Montana until 6pm Thursday.
A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY has been issued for north-central Montana from Thursday evening into Friday.
A WINTER STORM WARNING has been issued for the Rocky Mountain Front from Thursday morning through Friday.
A WINTER STORM WATCH has been issued for parts of north-central Montana from Saturday morning through Sunday evening.
It's the first full day of spring but cold temperatures and widespread snow are headed for Montana and much of the West for the next week or so. Cold air continues to sweep southward through the state with snow limited up on the Hi-Line. Waves of snow will be moving through the state over the next several days to more than a week. Snow will be significant over the course of this time, along with well below average temperatures. Different parts of the state will have different waves of snow at times, but most of Montana will be more like winter for this first weekend of spring. Thursday morning will be cold with light snow in the northern half of Montana, especially on the Hi-Line where a few more inches will accumulate. Showers of rain and snow and even a rumble of thunder will move through Helena, Great Falls and Lewistown in the morning. Highs will only be in the 20s and 30s north, but Helena will have highs in the 40s to around 50. Friday the cold air takes over almost the entire state with a little light snow scattered about the northern part of the state. Steady snow will fall along the Rocky Mountain Front. Highs will be in the 20s and 30s but areas like Missoula, Dillon and Bozeman will still be dry and warm with highs in the 40s to 50s. Widespread snow is likely this weekend with significant accumulation of several inches likely. Highs will be in the 20s and 30s with snow on both Saturday and Sunday, low will dip into the 0s and 10s. Cold, snow showery weather will continue on Monday and Tuesday as well. It's possible that more than 12-18" falls across many of the lower elevations in the state through the weekend into early next week. The mountains will see feet of snow that will provide a boost to the snowpack.
Happy Spring,
Curtis Grevenitz
Chief Meteorologist
