Chinook "Snow-Eater" Wind Warming Up Montana

A chinook wind is blowing and warming up much of Montana. Chinook literally means "snow eater" because of warmer, dry winds that quickly melt snow. Much of north-central Montana had afternoon highs well above average which melted some of that recent snow. Besides the wind and some areas of blowing snow, abundant sunshine prevailed across the state once again. This pattern will continue for Friday and Saturday with above average temperatures throughout the state and wind across the prairies. The valleys of western Montana will remain in minor inversions which will trap somewhat cooler air along with little to no wind, but at least there will be sunshine across the board. The next storm system will spread clouds through Montana on Sunday with just a few mountain snow showers. Snow will increase for much of Montana through Sunday night into Monday. Like previous storms, most of the accumulation will be in the mountains. The lower elevations could see up to 1-2" but that's it. The snow drought will continue in the lower elevations for the forseeable future. Although much of the valleys and plains have little to no snow, the higher elevations continue to have above average snowpack.
Have a great day!
Curtis Grevenitz