Winter storm rolling into Montana

The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm watch for Western Montana starting this evening through next Tuesday.

“Steady snow will begin in the mountains late Saturday night and persist through Tuesday,” a weather advisory states. “The heaviest snowfall will be on Sunday and Sunday night. The valleys across the Northern Rockies will see a mixed bag of rain and snow. A few locations could potentially receive freezing rain on Sunday.”

All valleys are expected to transition to snow by Monday and an arctic air mass will bring strong winds from the north, causing blowing snow and dangerously low wind chills, especially Monday and Tuesday, the Weather Service predicts.

Snow accumulations are expected to reach 8 to 18 inches on mountain passes and 1 to 8 inches in the valleys.