Hunters: Get ready for a cold season

The 2013 general hunting season kicks off at daylight Saturday morning, with some dramatically different weather expected to set in soon after.

The National Weather Service in Missoula is reaffirming earlier forecasts that a winter storm system will be diving out of Canada late Sunday and into the early part of next week.

“This is a potentially dangerous storm system given the time of year, how rapid conditions will change and the multitude of issues it presents,” a Thursday advisory states.

Daytime temperatures will plummet 20 to 30 degrees on Monday compared to Sunday’s highs. The combination of colder temperatures and winds will result in wind chills in the teens and single digits by Monday.

Precipitation will begin as rain Sunday afternoon across Northwest Montana but will quickly change to snow down to the valley floors by Sunday evening.

“Monday will be very cold and windy with snow continuing in many areas,” the advisory states.

Some locations, such as Bad Rock Canyon near Columbia Falls, could see winds gusting in excess of 50 mph. Because strong winds will be coming from the north, there are concerns for boats and docks along Flathead Lake’s southern shorelines due to large waves.

But the hunting season will carry on, for a good five weeks. This year’s season is scheduled to close Sunday, Dec. 1.

A season that extends into December is expected to be advantageous for hunters, because of a greater likelihood that there will be snow on the ground during the season, better enabling tracking, and there will be at least two full weeks to hunt bucks in the rut.