MISSOULA — A system will bring widespread mountain snow along with rain/snow to the valleys Tuesday.
The valleys of northwest Montana will see precipitation start as snow Tuesday morning. Light accumulations of 1"-to-3" will be possible for the valleys across northwest Montana. The valleys of west-central and southwest Montana will see precipitation fall in the form of a rain/snow mix with very little snow accumulation expected. The mountains along the Montana/Idaho border could see around 4"-to-8" of snow through Tuesday afternoon.
Off and on scattered snow showers will remain in the forecast Tuesday night before drier weather moves in Wednesday. Highs Wednesday will remain in the upper 30's to low 40's.
A another weak weather system will bring scattered valley rain/snow and mountain snow Wednesday night. However, by Thursday skies will quickly clear with a mix of sun and clouds and highs in the low to middle 40's.
Starting Friday, warm air will begin moving into the northern Rockies. At the same time a low pressure system will move in bringing widespread rain to the valleys. The mountains will start out seeing snow, however, as temperatures continue to rise mountain passes will see precipitation turn to a rain/snow mix or even all rain.
Saturday will be the warmest day with record highs or near record highs possible. Temperatures will top out in the upper 40's to middle 50's with scattered rain showers continuing as well.
Sunday will see a strong cold front begin pushing into the region. Temperatures will be falling behind the front as highs top out in the upper 30's to middle 40's Sunday then fall into the 20's and low 30's Monday.
Confidence is high in the much cooler temperatures, however, how much snow will be accompanied with this front is yet to be determined. Right now, not much snow is expected. We will continue to monitor this as we get closer to the weekend.
