Glacier Park may get a foot of new snow

The Daily Inter Lake

Glacier National Park plow crews may be in for a setback, with the National Weather Service saying the park will take the brunt of an incoming winter storm.

Heavy snow is expected today along the Continental Divide, with a winter storm warning in effect for Glacier Park through Wednesday morning.

"We could easily see a foot or more" from Essex to Marias Pass and north into the park, said Peter Felsch, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Missoula.

About 2 to 3 inches of snow fell in the Flathead Valley on Monday morning during the "developing stages' of the winter storm, Felsch said.

"As this thing ramps up, the main element of it will start Tuesday morning and will continue into Wednesday," he said, adding that snowfall could possibly carry into Thursday.

The passing cold front is expected to bring northeast winds of 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 35 mph.

The Weather Service warned about dangerous travel on U.S. 2 along the southern edge of Glacier Park. "The corridor between Essex and Marias Pass is expected to be the heaviest impacted," a Weather Service bulletin said. "Near-zero visibility with blizzard conditions are possible."

The storm will impact most of Western Montana, and some valleys in southwestern Montana will get 1 to 3 inches of snow.

One forecasting model shows that the Flathead Valley will be mostly dry but very windy today. Low temperatures are expected to be in the upper 20s to lower 30s through Wednesday, followed by a gradual warming trend into the weekend.

Glacier Park plowing crews have been making considerable progress in their annual effort to clear snow from Going-to-the-Sun Road.

The storm could slow down the crews and raise avalanche dangers along Sun Road.