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More Snow Coming To Western Montana This Week

Be prepared for difficult travel conditions as roads become slick and visibility is reduced.
National Weather Service Missoula
Be prepared for difficult travel conditions as roads become slick and visibility is reduced.

The first part of this week’s wintery weather forecast brought record snowfall to parts of northwest Montana. Round two starts late Thursday night.

This time, west-central Montana is expected to bear the brunt of this new incoming weather system.

National Weather Service Meteorologist, Ryan Leach:

"So we’ve got a pretty strong front coming down from the north. It’ll move pretty quickly across northwest Montana, so some of the areas that got harder hit with this last round will get more of a quicker shot as far as the heavier precip. when the worst conditions come. Then it’ll settle down over central Idaho and central western Montana and sit there for a little bit. We’re looking at 4 to 6 inches of snow in the Missoula area."

Butte and parts of the Bitterroot Valley are also expected to get several inches of fresh snow.

"Yeah, it’s going to make travel a little bit more difficult. We’ve have had pretty icy roads here and we’re just going to start putting snow on top of that. I’d encourage people to be very careful, especially if it’s snowing."

This front will create gusty easterly winds that could produce some localized blowing and drifting snow. The system moves out of the region late Friday.

“We’re basically going to stay a little showery with some light snow off and on throughout the weekend," Leach says. "But that Christmas Eve to Christmas time period we’re looking at another round of snow. Basically, it’s just going to be continuous showers after that, throughout the week."

Computer models don’t yet agree on the exact location or intensity of the Christmas snow, but Leach says a lot of western Montanans could see at least a couple of inches.

The coldest temperatures are forecast for Saturday and Sunday with daytime highs only from the mid to upper teens.

Edward O’Brien first landed at Montana Public Radio three decades ago as a news intern while attending the UM School of Journalism. He covers a wide range of stories from around the state.
edward.obrien@umt.edu.  
(406) 243-4065
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