Another arctic punch on the way
Scene of a rollover vehicle accident along U.S. 93 just north of Lakeside on Thursday. No injuries were reported. A quick shot of winter weather dropped a few inches of snow on the valley Thursday morning, creating hazardous driving conditions. More cold and snow is on the way this weekend. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Scene of a vehicle accident with rollover along U.S. 93 just north of Lakeside on Thursday, Feb. 28. No injuries were reported. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
As the saying goes, March will roar in like a lion as another arctic front bears down on the region, this time bringing the coldest temperatures of the season.
The frigid weather will come on the heels of a series of polar punches to wallop the area over the last month.
“It looks even stronger than all the others we’ve seen,” said Corby Dickerson, meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Missoula. “It’s on par with the worst conditions we’ve seen this winter.”
The arctic airmass will make its way over the Continental Divide around Glacier Park on Friday morning and push in the Flathead Valley by afternoon.
“Model agreement is very good and depicts this as the coldest air mass yet this winter to move into the region. Which is ironic since it will arrive in March, which is the beginning of meteorological spring,” the Weather Service stated in its forecast discussion Thursday morning.
Strong winds with gusts up to 50 mph will be likely in places like Columbia Falls and the Badrock area.
Blowing snow will reduce visibility, and drifting snow may make some roads impassable if they are not frequently plowed, the Weather Service warned.
Low temperatures near minus 15 are possible Saturday, Sunday and Monday in valley locations. Wind-chill values as low as minus 30 are likely.
Polebridge will be the cold spot, with lows dipping to minus 25 overnight Monday.
Record lows are possible in some locations, Dickerson said, depending on how much it clears off at night.
“It’s a one-two punch of arctic air. It’s pretty brutal,” Dickerson said.
Snow won’t be as big of a factor, he added, but a shot of light and fluffy snow could impact the region prior to the arrival of the cold front.
According to National Weather Service statistics, this February was the second coldest on record in Kalispell with an average temperature of 12.6 degrees. The normal average is closer to 27 degrees.
Snowfall in the valley has trended ahead of average, too. The weather station at Glacier Park International Airport had recorded 23.3 inches of snowfall in February as of Thursday morning, making this February the fifth snowiest on record for the valley. The snowiest February came in 1936 when about 31 inches of snow was recorded.
The average for the month is about 8 inches.
Season to date, the Flathead Valley has picked up about 50 inches of snow, compared to the 45-inch average.
While the valleys are trending ahead of normal, mountain snowpack in the Flathead Basin is at 91 percent of average for this time of year.
Noisy Basin in the Swan Range is showing a snow depth of 93 inches, which is a bit below average. Last year at this time Noisy Basin had 145 inches of snow on the ground.
Flattop Mountain in Glacier National Park has 90 inches of snow, and Big Mountain is reporting 104 inches.
Forecasts show a continuation of below average temperatures for the next two weeks, with near normal precipitation for Northwest Montana.