MISSOULA — The arctic front has made its way through all of western Montana, cold air is now firmly in place and will continue through the rest of the week.
Snow showers will continue for west-central and southwest Montana Monday morning. Combine the snow with gusty winds and a difficult commute to work can be expected this morning with snow and blowing snow. Snow has tapered off in the Flathead Valley and along the continental divide in the Glacier region, however, strong gusty northeast winds will continue to bring blowing snow and low visibilities through the morning hours.
A secondary push of very cold air will move into all of western Montana this afternoon and continue into Tuesday. This deep arctic air will continue to bring strong gusty northeast winds across the entire Northern Rockies. Extremely cold air with these winds will result in a lengthy period of very low wind chills of 15 to 30 degrees below zero. Even more dangerous wind chill readings of 30 to 40 degrees below zero are likely along the continental divide which includes the Glacier NP region, the Seeley/Swan valley, and the Butte/Blackfoot Region. These extremely cold wind chills will start this evening and continue into Wednesday.
Here is a look at potential wind chill tonight into Tuesday morning:
Missoula: -22 to -28
Kalispell: -25 to -30
Butte: -30 to -35
West Glacier: -34 to -39
Seeley Lake: -35 to -40
The coldest morning of the week will be Wednesday morning with actual temperatures (not including wind chill) being 10 to 15 degrees below zero across western Montana. Even colder air is expected along the divide with temperatures around 15 to 25 degrees below zero.
