Bitter cold week ahead for Flathead Valley

Dangerous cold and wind is on the heels of a potent winter storm that surged into Northwest Montana on Sunday.

Blowing snow and flash freezing was expected to continue into Monday morning for the Flathead and Mission valleys. Over a foot of snow had accumulated on Marias Pass south of Glacier National Park as of noon at Sunday, while to 6 inches was possible in the valleys.

The National Weather Service in Missoula warns that as the snowfall wanes, bitter cold and wind will batter the region through Tuesday.

Wind chills in Northwest Montana will get down to about 20 degrees below zero along the U.S. 2 corridor east of Columbia Falls, while Polebridge could see wind chills dipping to minus 30. Wind chill values of minus 10 to minus 20 are likely in all valley locations.

Strong winds could disrupt power lines, the Weather Service warned.

U.S. 93 from Eureka to Whitefish will likely see sustained winds of 20-35 mph, with gusts up to 45 mph. The Swan Lake, Bigfork and Finley Point areas will see similar gusty conditions.

The arctic air will remain in place across the entire Northern

Rockies for much of the week.

“Wednesday still looks to be the coldest day of the week as lows dip to 20 below zero or colder in the colder valleys such as Polebridge, Seeley Lake, Butte, and Georgetown Lake,” the Weather Service reported in its Sunday forecast. “Temperatures will slowly moderate through

Saturday morning, and finally rebound to more seasonable readings by Saturday afternoon.”

High pressure with highs in the low 30s is on tap for the weekend.