Memorial Day snow?

Weather expected to be cooler, wetter in coming week

After a week of hot, sunny weather, conditions in Northwest Montana could deteriorate over the next several days.

The rain that began Friday should continue on and off through the coming week. By Memorial Day weekend, there's a possibility of snow and widespread rain throughout the region.

Meteorologist Peter Felsch with the National Weather Service in Missoula said the first chance for severe weather comes Sunday.

"That's the day we're going to be looking at," Felsch said. "There's a good potential for strong, possibly severe thunderstorms Sunday afternoon and early Monday morning, specifically in Northwest Montana."

That cooler, wetter trend should continue through next week, he said.

However, that shouldn't cause problems with flooding. River levels in Western Montana are expected to peak this weekend and then gradually decrease.

The Yaak River in Lincoln County is currently under a flood watch. It could reach the flood stage of 8 feet sometime today or Sunday before dropping.

Similarly, the North Fork of the Flathead River is expected to peak at about 10 feet this weekend where it crosses the international border. At Polebridge, it should crest at about 11.7 feet, just below the flood stage of 12 feet, according to the Northwest River Forecast Center.

Felsch said even if some severe thunderstorms hit the area in the next few days, they shouldn't raise river levels because they don't last very long.

"We'd need one to three days of good, wetting rain before it caused any problem with the rivers," he said. "That's what we have to watch for on Memorial Day weekend."

A tropical feature that's currently off the coast of California could move east and park itself above the Rocky Mountains by Friday.

"Depending on where it parks, we might see some snow in higher elevation terrain, with the possibility of widespread rain," Felsch said. "That might cause some rivers or shallow streams to rise again."

The snowpack in the Flathead River basin is running at about 90 percent of average, so there's still a lot of snow at the higher elevations.

Reporter William Spence can be reached at wspence@dailyinterlake.com or call 758-4459.