Cold didn't set records

The Daily Inter Lake

The Flathead Valley is about to emerge from a brief bout of unseasonably cold weather.

No records were set, but the cold snap was well below average temperatures.

Wednesday's low of minus 7 degrees, for instance, compares to an average low of 25 degrees - and the high of 20 degrees was well below the average high of 45 degrees for March 11.

The record low for the date, however, is 18 below, set in 1969.

Tuesday morning's low was minus 1, a day that delivered a record snowfall of 4 inches at Glacier Park International Airport, topping the previous record of 2.3 inches set on March 10, 1987.

The National Weather Service in Missoula is forecasting a gradual warming trend, with highs in the upper 20s to mid-30s today, in the 40s on Friday and in the 30s to 40s by Saturday, with a 40 percent chance of snow Saturday night.