Summer snow coats Whitefish ski resort

Winter is a full season away, but Flathead Valley skiers were left salivating Wednesday after Whitefish Mountain Resort recorded a rare August snowfall.

By noon, an inch of the white stuff had blanketed the upper 1,000 feet of Big Mountain. 

"It certainly has been a strange summer with more precipitation than we're used to, but measurable snow? This time of year? We didn't have this on our bingo card," resort spokesperson Chad Sokol wrote on the ski area's snow report page. 

A winter weather advisory was issued for the mountains of Northwest Montana through Wednesday evening. Locations above 5,000 feet in Glacier National Park and the Seeley Swan region were expected to see 3 to 6 inches of snow.

Fresh snow coated Logan Pass on Wednesday afternoon, prompting park officials to close the alpine portion of Going-to-the-Sun Road between Avalanche Creek and Jackson Glacier Overlook. Officials said the road would reopen after conditions improve.

People visiting the park were advised to be prepared for raw conditions.

Valley temperatures were expected to plummet into the 30s overnight in Kalispell and Whitefish. The National Weather Service in Missoula warned residents to cover sensitive plants due to frost or freezing Thursday morning.

More seasonable weather returns for the weekend, with high temperatures in the mid 80s running about 5 to 10 degrees above normal.

Labor Day is expected to be sunny and hot.