Advisory Archive
Snow and cold temperatures return to southwest Montana this weekend after a week of dry, warm weather. A Canadian cold front arrives mid-day Saturday. Westerly winds will increase to 40 mph, temperatures will drop and snow will fall from Saturday afternoon into Sunday morning. Snowfall amounts are not as impressive as I had hoped. In the northern mountains three to four inches could fall with closer to six inches around West Yellowstone and Cooke City.
We are welcoming all this new snow with open arms. In the last 24 hours the mountains of southwest Montana picked up three to four inches of dense snow. Cooke City, never to be outdone, received an inch of SWE which equals almost a foot of new snow at the upper elevations. Mountain temperatures are in the mid-teens and will rise to near 40F over the next few days. Winds have been strong out of the west to northwest and averaging 20-30 mph with gusts hitting the 50s. Today will remain windy, but die down over the weekend. Other than another inch or two of more snow this morning, the weekend looks to be cloudy with no significant storms.
The snow keeps coming. Overnight another 6 inches of snow fell in the Bridger Range and near Cooke City. Most other areas got 2-4 inches. Winds increased in the mountains near Bozeman and Big Sky averaging about 20 mph gusting 30-40 mph from the west. Near Cooke City and West Yellowstone winds were blowing 10-15 mph. Southwest winds will really get cranking Thursday morning as a trough of low pressure approaches the advisory area. More snow will fall Thursday and Thursday night.
Hello winter, it’s great to see you. Snowfall totals since Saturday morning are 15 inches in the Bridger Range and areas just south of West Yellowstone. Most other places received 5-8 inches since then. This morning temperatures at ridgetops had dropped to the single digits F. On Sunday winds blew 15-30 mph generally from the W and calmed Monday to 10-15 mph.
Today temperatures will rise into the teens to 20s F and westerly winds will steadily increase through the day. Snowfall will return this evening and produce about 2 inches by tomorrow morning. Winds from the SW will get cranking on Thursday ahead of a trough of low pressure that will bring more snow Thursday night.
Snow accumulated in places like Butte and Billings yesterday but left Bozeman and much of the advisory area with only a trace to one inch of snow. The exception was the Bridger Range which received 4 inches of snow. Mountain temperatures this morning were in the high teens to low 20s F. Easterly winds blew yesterday at 15 mph with gusts of 25 mph and calmed this morning to 5-10 mph. A few more snowflakes could fall today in the southern reaches of the advisory area. Drier conditions will last until Thursday when some snowfall is possible. More likely on Thursday will be strong NW winds and colder temperatures.
Over the past 24 hours the mountains of southwest Montana picked up roughly .5 inches of precipitation. In most areas this fell in the form of rain, but peaks above 9,000 ft. likely received a few inches of heavy, wet snow. Today, highs will warm into the 40s at 8,000 ft. and skies will remain partly to mostly cloudy. There is a slight chance of showers this morning, but the chance of precipitation will degrease throughout the day. The most pronounced weather factor will be the wind. Gusts up to 40 mph out of the WSW can be expected at upper elevations. The rest of the week looks to be breezy and unsettled.
Over the past 24 hours the mountains of southwest Montana picked up 3-6 inches of snow above 7,000 ft. Today, an additional 1-2 inches is possible at higher elevations. This storm system will gradually push to the east and conditions will begin to dry out by this evening. A warmer and drier weather pattern will persist through the weekend.
