A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY has been issued for East and West Glacier until 11am Thursday.
A complicated storm system on the Pacific Coast will spread a variety of precipitation into Montana over the next few days which could lead to treacherous travel. A frontal boundary has developed across Montana with cold Canadian air settling in over the last few days. This front will meander back and forth across the state for the rest of the week into the weekend with different kinds of precipitation along it. Rain, snow, sleet and freezing rain will form along this boundary. As the boundary shifts, the precipitation type could change back and forth. Areas that see a little freezing rain will get slippery fast as it only takes a glaze of ice to create treacherous travel conditions. North-central Montana, Great Falls area and the Rocky Mountain Front should see the most significant ice accumulation and thus the worst travel conditions late Thursday and then Friday. The storm will get closer to Montana on Thursday, spreading a mix of rain and snow west of the Divide. Areas of light rain, snow and ice will fall just east of the Divide including around Helena and Great Falls. Highs will warm into the 30s and 40s. Friday, the frontal boundary will again play a significant role in the state's weather. Great Falls and northern Montana will fall back into a colder airmass and there will be a little light snow and ice in that part of the state. South of Great Falls, warmer air will persist and any precipitation that falls will be in the form of rain in places like Helena, Townsend, Bounder, Bozeman and Butte. Highs in the northern part of the state will be in the 20s and low 30s. Southern areas will have highs more in the 40s. Saturday morning a cold front will move across the state with widespread snow that should accumulate a few inches. Temperatures will fall into the 20s and 30s. Sunday will be partly to mostly cloudy with a chance of light snow or flurries over southern Montana. Highs will be chilly in the 10s and 20s. Next week is Thanksgiving week, Monday and Tuesday will start out cold and mainly dry but a new storm is possible around Thanksgiving Day with snow.
Be careful the next few days,
Curtis Grevenitz
Chief Meteorologist
