BOZEMAN – An active weather pattern is returning to Montana this week into next week. First a series of small storms will produce off and on areas of light to moderate snow and could impact travel conditions especially over mountain passes this week.
An Arctic front will begin to dive down into Montana Friday and reach the southern half of the state by Saturday. Temperatures ahead of the front could stay near normal locally and reach the low to mid 30s by Friday. Arctic air will bring a sudden drop in temperatures and flash freezing of wet roads are possible on Saturday.
As the snow ends Saturday afternoon and skies clear slightly, temperatures will crash Sunday and Monday morning. Forecast lows across SW Montana could fall between –10 to –30 below zero with wind chills likely to be colder than –30 below zero.
Another shot of Arctic air could arrive on Tuesday Jan. 31st and that will likely keep temperatures running below zero throughout most of next week.
This is a very early estimate and changes are likely as we go through the week. For now, it appears likely that well below zero temperatures are on the way and we all need to start planning accordingly.
