MISSOULA — We're in for a brisk Pacific cold front tonight into Saturday morning, bringing moderate to heavy snow to the mountains.
Expect some intense snow showers as the front moves through, especially over northwest Montana. Lookout and Lolo passes will likely see the heaviest snowfall, with rates possibly reaching an inch per hour for a few hours.
As the front heads south, we could also see a snow squall form across west-central Montana, especially as it moves through southwest Montana, which could lead to decent snow on the roads. Higher elevations will get the most snow, but even in the valleys, we could see up to 2 inches on non-paved surfaces.
Snow showers will stick around in the Northern Rockies on Saturday, along with some strong westerly winds. Southwest Montana has about an 80% chance of seeing gusts over 40 mph from late Saturday morning into the afternoon.
On Sunday, another wave of moisture will push into the region, bringing widespread precipitation from north-central Idaho to northwest Montana. Snow levels will rise steadily during this time, so snow will stay in the higher elevations while the valleys should start seeing rain by Sunday afternoon.
Overall, please keep an eye on mountain pass conditions if you have plans to travel that direction. Roads could be very dangerous off and on through the weekend. Current Winter Weather Advisories are also subject to change as conditions evolve this weekend.
Looking ahead to next week, a high-pressure ridge will set up over the Northern Rockies, which will lead to warmer temperatures. There's a lot of confidence in the warmer weather kicking off Tuesday, March 25. Wednesday could be one of the warmest days of the season, though there's still some uncertainty about just how warm it will get, depending on cloud cover and winds.
By the end of the week, it looks like another disturbance will roll through, bringing cooler temps and more widespread precipitation to the region.
