Weather
at the 2:00 mark in this NOAA video, they say they have High confidence in 1-2 feet of snow in the mountains
NOAA is reporting that a “Major Winter Storm” with a “Dramatically Cold Arctic Air Mass” will begin affecting the Northern Rockies today through Tuesday.
Western Montana has just been issued a 4-day-long Winter Storm Watch. We can’t remember a time where we’ve seen a 4-day-long winter storm watch. In addition to Montana’s winter storm watch, most of the mountainous areas of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming have been issued Winter Weather Advisories.
NOAA is saying they have high confidence in 1-2 feet of snow for Western Montana’s mountains.
NOAA, MISSULA, MT:
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT 414 AM MST SAT NOV 30 2013 ...MOUNTAIN SNOW ON SUNDAY FOLLOWED BY AN ARCTIC FRONT ON MONDAY... .A COMPLEX WEATHER SYSTEM WILL BE MOVING THROUGH THE NORTHERN ROCKIES THIS HOLIDAY WEEKEND. FIRST, A STREAM OF MOISTURE WILL BE USHERED INTO THE REGION CAUSING SIGNIFICANT SNOW IN THE MOUNTAINS. THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR A MIX BAG OF RAIN...SNOW...AND FREEZING RAIN IN THE VALLEYS ON SUNDAY INTO SUNDAY NIGHT. THEN ON MONDAY, AN ARCTIC FRONT WILL SWEEP THROUGH THE REGION CAUSING TEMPERATURES TO DROP DRAMATICALLY WITH STRONG NORTHERLY WINDS. WIND CHILLS ACROSS THE REGION COULD REACH DANGEROUS LEVELS. ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 AM MST THIS MORNING... ...WINTER STORM WATCH NOW IN EFFECT FROM THIS EVENING THROUGH LATE TUESDAY NIGHT... FOR THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY: * THIS MORNING: SLICK DRIVING CONDITIONS WILL EXIST AS A RESULT OF LIGHT POCKETS OF FREEZING RAIN. REPORTS OF FREEZING RAIN CAUSING DANGEROUS TRAVEL HAVE BEEN REPORTED ALONG I-90 FROM HAUGAN TO LOOKOUT PASS. SLICK ROAD CONDITIONS MAY LAST THROUGH THE MORNING, SO USE CAUTION IF TRAVELING IN THIS REGION. FOR THE WINTER STORM WATCH: * IMPACTS/TIMING: SNOW WILL BEGIN IN THE MOUNTAINS LATE TONIGHT, WITH THE HEAVIEST SNOWFALL OCCURRING LATE SUNDAY THROUGH MONDAY MORNING. LIGHT TO MODERATE SNOW WILL CONTINUE THEREAFTER. VALLEYS WILL SEE A MIXED BAG OF RAIN AND SNOW, WITH A FEW LOCATIONS RECEIVING POCKETS OF LIGHT FREEZING RAIN ON SUNDAY. BY MONDAY AFTERNOON, ALL VALLEYS WILL TRANSITION OVER TO SNOW. BACKCOUNTRY CONDITIONS WILL BECOME INCREASINGLY ADVERSE, ESPECIALLY MONDAY AND TUESDAY.
* SNOW ACCUMULATIONS: 1 TO 2 FEET IN THE MOUNTAINS, WITH 1 TO 3
INCHES IN VALLEYS.
* WINDS: SOUTHWEST TO WEST WINDS WILL DEVELOP MONDAY MORNING, WITH
GUSTS TO 40 MPH POSSIBLE, ESPECIALLY OVER LOOKOUT PASS AND THE
HIGHER TERRAIN. THEN ON MONDAY NIGHT, WINDS BECOME NORTHERLY 15
TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS 35 TO 45 MPH POSSIBLE. BLOWING SNOW COULD
BECOME AN ISSUE DURING THESE TIME FRAMES.
* WIND CHILL: 10 TO 20 BELOW ZERO READINGS TUESDAY THROUGH
TUESDAY NIGHT.
