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Cooling trend begins Thursday into next week

Increasing rain, snow, and wind
Posted at 7:36 PM, Oct 16, 2019
and last updated 2019-10-16 21:36:44-04

BOZEMAN – An incredible weather day for SW Montana with abundant sunshine and above normal temperatures. This is the first day so in October with temperatures in the 60s and 70s.

NEXT WEATHER MAKER

By Thursday afternoon a Pacific cold front will slowly move over Montana producing scattered showers, gusty surface winds, and it will begin a cooling trend that will last well into next week.

This front along with a strong westerly flow aloft will produce wind gusts to or over 60 mph along the Rocky Mountain front and adjacent plains. Most of central Montana will have the greatest wind impact Thursday into Friday.

Once this cold front passes through the state a slow-moving upper level Low-pressure system will bring increasing rain or snow to valleys of SW Montana and periods of off-and-on mountain snow this weekend into early next week. Snow levels could fall to the valley floor by Sunday morning.

Some mountain ranges along the MT/ID state line in favored upslope regions could receive significant amounts of snow this weekend into next week. Mountain passes will likely see snow accumulations and wintry travel impacts this weekend into next week.

CHILLY OCTOBER

For the first 15 days of October average temperatures in SW Montana are well below normal. In fact, most average temperatures are ranked in the top 5 coolest locally. Despite today’s warm weather pattern, looking at temperatures this weekend into all next week it looks like below normal temperatures will continue in the back half of the month.