Winter storm on the way

The Daily Inter Lake

Winter weather is expected to return to Northwest Montana today after two months of dry, balmy weather.

The National Weather Service on Wednesday issued a winter storm warning for the mountains and a snow advisory for valleys in Northwest Montana.

Mountain elevations above 4,000 feet were expected to receive 8-14 inches of snow by noon today; the Flathead Valley was expected to receive 2-4 inches of snow.

Winds of 10-25 mph were predicted to accompany the snow.

The precipitation will be welcome in the Flathead Valley, which has had less than an inch of precipitation so far this year.

The last appreciable moisture was on Jan. 17. In February and so far in March, a paltry .07 inches of precipitation have fallen on the valley.