Heavy snow to hit Northwest Montana valleys
A plow clears roads near Glacier National Park last week. (Jeremy Weber/Daily Inter Lake)
Widespread heavy snowfall is expected to impact Northwest Montana beginning Thursday through Friday.
A winter weather advisory is in place for the Flathead and Mission valleys through Friday night. By the time the storm winds down some valley areas could be digging out of 8 to 11 inches of snow, the National Weather Service in Missoula warned. Travel could be difficult at times.
Meanwhile, area mountains could get dumped on with 2 to 3 feet of powder.
The storm will be the result of a so-called atmospheric river interacting with an arctic air mass.
“As the moist air from the southwest streams into the area over the recently deposited cold air, heavy snow will ensue,” the Weather Service stated in its Tuesday forecast.
Areas to the south, such as the Bitterroot Valley and lower elevations of Sanders County, could see shots of freezing rain, while areas to the north should stay all snow.
“These areas are on the southern end of their respective valleys and will be the first to break out of the cold air if they do,” the forecast stated.
Mountain snow is expected to continue into the start of the weekend, before tapering off as a ridge builds over the region.
Next week’s weather is poised to be less active, with sunny skies and highs in the 30s.