Season's first snow set to arrive Saturday
Bob Sherrick shovels snow with his dog Louie along Fourth Avenue East in Kalispell on Friday, Jan. 7. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
So long Indian summer, hello Jack Frost.
Hunters planning to head out this weekend for the big game season-opener should be prepared for an abrupt shift in weather, as in freezing temperatures and significant mountain snow.
According to the National Weather Service in Missoula, a cold front sweeps into the area Saturday, bringing widespread precipitation starting off as valley rain and snow above 4,000 feet. By Saturday night into Sunday, even valley locations could see accumulating snow.
The higher terrain could get more than a foot of snow by the time the system moves out of the region.
Forecast models show Marias Pass on the southern border of Glacier National Park picking up between 5 and 15 inches of snow, while Swan Lake could see 2 to 8 inches.
“Confidence is increasing for periods of winter driving conditions across area mountain passes, particularly for Lookout, Marias and Lolo passes,” the Weather Service warned in its Monday forecast.
Kalispell residents should be ready to shovel too, with an inch up to 2.5 inches possible by Sunday.
Temperatures will be 20 to 25 degrees colder than the past week. Expect valley lows in the 20s and highs in the 40s.
A second winter punch comes in Monday into Tuesday, the Weather Service warned, with another foot of snow possible in the mountains.