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Extreme winter weather conditions this week

Periods of heavy snow and Arctic cold to grip most of Montana
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BOZEMAN – A very complex atmosphere continues to develop, and it could have significant impacts Sunday through Friday.

There will be numerous rounds of snow creating difficult to dangerous travel conditions Sunday through Wednesday and more snow is possible by Friday.

The combination of a warm moist SW flow paving the way for a steady stream of moisture and at the same time cold Arctic air digging in at the surface from the north will create periods of heavy snow and extremely icy road conditions.

The temperatures on Sunday afternoon is in the lower 30s, that is warm enough to produce some melting of falling snow on roadways producing wet surface conditions. Arctic air will drive southward and there is a good chance that wet roads will flash freeze at the same time steady light snow occurs overnight producing horrible road conditions for Monday mornings commute.

The National Weather Service has issued a WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY for the Butte/Blackfoot region through 11 am Monday morning along with most of Beaverhead County including Dillon and in the Ennis area. Valley snow accumulations will be highly varied between 1”-5” with most mountain passes picking up 5”-10” of snow overnight.

The National Weather Service has issued a WINTER STORM WARNING for most of SW Montana, including the Gallatin Valley down to West Yellowstone and from Bozeman to Billings and Miles City. Periods of heavy snow at all levels are possible Sunday night into Monday morning. Valley snow totals will be highly varied with 3”-8” possible and mountains and passes 5”-10” of snow.

There is a WINTER STORM WATCH up for SW, Western, Central, and Northern Montana from Monday morning through Wednesday morning. This means conditions look very favorable for periods of moderate to heavy snow with a significant impact to travel conditions. This watch will likely get upgraded to a Winter Storm Warning soon.

Although snow is the most significant impact to Montana Sunday through Friday, keep in mind temperatures will be much colder with wind chills possibly below zero, daytime highs will only reach the teens to lower 20s this week and morning lows in the very low single digits.