BOZEMAN – Unseasonably warm temperatures for early March Friday afternoon with most reporting stations reaching the 50s and 60s. Record highs were reported both west and east of the divide in SW Montana.
The next weather maker is a new Pacific cold front that will pass through Montana from NW to SE Saturday. Western Montana will start to see increasing clouds, showers, and windy in the early morning hours Saturday. Areas of moderate snowfall are likely in NW Montana Saturday into Sunday.
This front will reach SW Montana Saturday afternoon. Ahead of the front temperatures will remain well above normal Saturday but will drop off sharply behind the front Saturday night into Sunday. SW Montana could see scattered rain or snow for lower valleys with a slight chance for freezing rain Saturday evening into Sunday morning.
Mountain snow is likely with this storm Saturday night through Monday with accumulations around 2”-6” above 6,000’. There could be some minor travel issues with this storm for higher mountain passes with accumulating snowfall Saturday night through Monday.
