BOZEMAN – The snow has ended and now the bitter cold is here and will linger into Monday and Tuesday.
Sunday morning lows did not shatter any records, but we did drop into the 20s and 30s below zero Monday morning with Elk Park MDT temperature falling to –45 below zero.
Under clear skies Sunday night look for minimum lows Monday morning to be even colder, in fact, we will be near record lows and a few new record lows are possible Monday morning.
Forecast lows for Monday morning across SW Montana:
Another hazard associated with this extreme cold is wind chill values. The National Weather Service continues a WIND CHILL ADVISORY for most of Montana through Monday at noon.
Wind chills as low as –35 below zero are possible. These dangerously cold wind chills can cause frostbite on exposed skin within 15 minutes.
There was considerable areas of blowing and drifting snow over SW Montana Sunday morning with numerous road closures and severe driving conditions issued by MDT. As of 1 pm Sunday the only road closure that is still in effect is I-15 between Butte down through Dillon and continuing to Monida Pass.
The good news is this closure is for commercial vehicles only, locals can travel on I-15 but conditions are dangerous with areas of considerable blowing snow and very low visibility along with the extreme cold.
Looking at the forecast a slow warming trend begins Tuesday afternoon and by the end of the work week we could see maximum temperatures jump slightly above freezing.
