A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY has been issued for the Helena area through Friday morning.
A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY has been issued for north-central Montana including Great Falls and Lewistown from Friday morning into Sunday.
A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY has been issued for northeast Montana from Friday morning through Sunday.
A WINTER STORM WATCH has been issued for the Rocky Mountain Front and out the Hi-Line from Friday night through Saturday night.
A mix of snow, sleet, freezing rain and rain will have a significant impact on travel conditions across most of Montana into the weekend. A frontal boundary has developed across Montana with cold Canadian air settling in over the last few days. This front has meandered back and forth across the state and the cold air has come and gone and come again for some areas. 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 through Friday. This colder boundary is moving south and will push into the Helena area with temperatures falling below freezing. Very icy conditions are likely through Friday morning. South of Helena will be warmer with just plain liquid rain likely. Highs in the northern part of the state will be in the 10s and 20s. Southern areas will have highs more in the 30s and 40s. Saturday morning a cold front will move across the state with areas of snow. 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 light snow and a reinforcing shot of colder air.
Be careful out there,
Curtis Grevenitz
Chief Meteorologist
