A WINTER STORM WATCH has been issued for the higher terrain of western and central Montana from Wednesday evening into Thursday morning.
A FLOOD WATCH has been issued for the Little Belt and Highwood Mountains from Wednesday afternoon to Friday morning.
A series of storms will produce significant rain in the lower elevations and heavy snow in the mountains this week and this Memorial Day Weekend. Climatologically this is a wet time of year and that will come to fruition with more than an inch of rain possible in the lower elevations and some mountains getting more than a foot of snow. Tuesday will start off nice with partly cloudy skies and dry conditions, but that will not last long as a few showers and thunderstorms pop in the afternoon and evening. Highs will be in the 50s and 60s. West wind will be between 10-20mph. Even with the chance of a couple storms, Tuesday might end up being the nicest day this week. Wednesday will be mostly cloudy with showers and thunderstorms increasing through the day. Highs will be in the 50s and 60s, warmer out east. Rain will increase with snow levels decreasing Wednesday night into Thursday morning. Snow could mix in down below 5000' to possibly around the Helena Downtown and even near the Great Falls Airport up on the hill. Thursday will start off wet with heavy mountain snow. Mountain passes will be impacted by several inches of snow and travel should be slippery. Snow levels will slowly rise through Thursday as the storm slowly moves away. After a wet morning, rain will taper off through Thursday afternoon and evening. Highs will be in the 40s and 50s, with a few 60s up on the Hi-Line where there will be more sunshine. Some flooding in possible in the Little Belt and Highwood Mountains with all of the rain, heavy snow, and then melting of that snow. Friday will not be that bad of a day with partly cloudy skies and a few isolated showers and thunderstorms. Highs will be in the 50s and 60s. Travelers for Memorial Day Weekend will not have much if any issues heading to their destination. A new storm will move in for Saturday with showers, thunderstorms and higher elevation snow. Hgihs will be in the 50s and 60s. Saturday will be a stormy night with rain in the lower elevations and snow in the mountains. Sunday will start out stormy with rain and mountain snow that will gradually taper off later in the day. Temperatures will be cool in the 40s and 50s and the wind will be gusty out of the northwest. The good news is that the entire weekend will not be a washout. Memorial Day on Monday looks lovely with mostly sunny skies and warmer highs in the 60s and 70s.
Have a great day,
Curtis Grevenitz
Chief Meteorologist
