Another shot of severe winter weather is impacting Montana Thursday night into Friday morning.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
- Morning commutes will be very icy Friday morning over mountain passes and most valleys
- Colder air is digging down into Montana through Friday
- Winter Storm Warnings issued along the Continental Divide & near Cooke City
- Winter Weather Advisory is up for SW Montana Thursday night
- Check the STORMTracker Travel Watch Page before hitting the road: Click Here
The above on demand STORMTracker video will walk you through the forecast hour by hour through Friday and cover travel concerns for Bozeman and SW Montana with Chief Meteorologist Mike Heard.
WINTER STORM WARNING
The National Weather Service has a WINTER STORM WARNING up now through Friday afternoon for most of Western Montana and along the Continental Divide including I-15 from Butte to Great Falls.
Moderate to heavy wet snow is likely and will have a significant impact on travel in the warning areas. Travel is not recommended. If you do hit the roads you will experience moderate snowfall, low visibility and wet roads quickly turning to icy. Another severe weather element will be strong gap winds along the divide. NE winds 15 to 30 mph with occasional stronger gusts will produce considerable blowing snow.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY
The National Weather Service has a WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY up now through Friday afternoon for the Bozeman – Ennis areas.
Rain or snow mix through early Thursday evening is possible but likely to change to all snow after sunset into the early morning hours Friday. Valleys snow should be on the lighter side but at pass level 3" – 6" is possible.
The biggest concern for travel is wet roads quickly turning icy overnight and remaining icy for your Friday morning commute.
LIVE STREAM from the STORMTracker Weather Center:
The video below is running LIVE constantly with updates on radar, severe weather highlights and updated MDT cameras from across SW Montana.
Micro Climates Next 24 Hours:
BOZEMAN: Low: 14, High: 38. Rain/Snow mix early Thursday evening but turning to snow overnight. Snow accumulations of 1" – 3" is most likely but there could be as much as 3" – 6" for Bozeman. Mountain passes nearby will see 3" – 6" with up to 9" possible. Wet roads will become extremely icy tonight. Watch for patchy fog in the morning but most of the snow will be ending shortly after sunrise. NE winds 10 to 20 mph are possible.
BUTTE: Low: 19, High: 39. Snow is likely tonight. Accumulations of 2" – 4" is possible but mountain passes nearby could see over 6" of snow. Wet roads will flash freeze and turn extremely icy by early morning. NE winds 10 to 20 mph at times could produce blowing snow. Friday scattered snow mostly in the morning with a few showers by afternoon
DILLON: Low: 21, High: 44. Scattered rain or snow is possible. Snow levels 6,000′ with 2" – 5" possible by morning. NE winds to 15 MPH
WEST YELLOWSTONE: Low: 25, High: 42. Periods of snow likely overnight. Accumulations of 3" – 6" possible and NE winds to 15 mph.
WEEKEND WEATHER PATTERN: Cool and wet. Scattered valley rain could mix with a little snow and there could be a few isolated thunderstorms Saturday night. Minor snow accumulations are possible for valley floors Sunday morning but be prepared for slushy snow accumulations over mountain passes this weekend.
Watch for some minor flooding issues especially around smaller streams and creeks. Rainfall forecasts has the potential for 0.50" to 1.00"+ Saturday afternoon through Sunday morning. Most valleys have snow on the ground and with warming temperatures and moderate rainfall rapid snow melt is likely and could produce flooding issues.
