Winter Storm Watch Montana: ARCTIC Weather System to Drop 6-12” of Snow

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Red means lots o snow for Montana on Saturday.

An “arctic weather system” is going to drop 6-12 inches of snow on western Montana this weekend starting Friday morning.  The winter storm watch begins Friday morning and goes through Sunday.  Wind chills will be in the single digits with this storm.

“An arctic front will impact the Northern Rockies this weekend. This front will cause widespread snow with the mountains receiving up to a foot of new snow. Snow and flash freeze on area roadways will cause hazardous driving conditions. Temperatures will drop dramatically with highs only in the 20s on Sunday. Strong northerly to northeasterly winds Saturday into Sunday morning will cause blowing snow and choppy conditions on area lakes. Wind chills will be below zero to single digits on Sunday morning, especially for western Montana.”NOAA

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NOAA:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
223 PM MST WED NOV 13 2013

...AN ARCTIC WEATHER SYSTEM IS GOING TO PASS THROUGH THE REGION THIS
WEEKEND AND BRING SNOW, GUSTY WINDS, COLD WIND CHILLS AND POTENTIALLY
DIFFICULT TRAVEL CONDITIONS THROUGH SUNDAY...

...WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM FRIDAY MORNING THROUGH
SUNDAY MORNING...

* IMPACTS/TIMING: SNOW WILL BEGIN TO FALL ON FRIDAY AND INTENSIFY
  THROUGH SATURDAY. SNOW WILL COMBINE WITH WIND TO PRODUCE LOW
  VISIBILITIES AND SLICK CONDITIONS THAT COULD PRODUCE POTENTIALLY
  DIFFICULT TRAVEL CONDITIONS ESPECIALLY SATURDAY THROUGH SUNDAY.

* FLATHEAD LAKE: GUSTY NORTH AND EAST WINDS WILL DEVELOP ON
  SATURDAY AND WILL PRODUCE DANGEROUS WAVES UP TO 6 FEET AND COLD
  WIND CHILLS ON AREA LAKES ESPECIALLY FLATHEAD.

* SNOW ACCUMULATIONS: 6 TO 12 INCHES OVER MOUNTAIN PASSES SUCH AS
  MARIAS PASS AND 2 TO 6 INCHES ELSEWHERE BY SUNDAY.

* WINDS: NORTH AND NORTHEAST WINDS 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 40
  MPH MAINLY ON SATURDAY.

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MORE NOAA:

A cold winter weather system is expected to impact western Montana and north central Idaho beginning on Saturday with its impacts persisting into at least Sunday. There are three main impacts expected with this system.

*

1: Unseasonably cold temperatures across much of the area with Sunday seeing the coldest temperatures. Highs temperatures will likely only reach into the lower 20s for western Montana valleys and near 30 for north central Idaho valleys. In addition to the cold, gusty winds will help produce potentially dangerous wind chill readings. Low temperatures overnight Sunday into Monday morning will reach single digits in many locations with some plunging into subzero values. We have high confidence regarding the cold and wind impacts with this system.

2: Snow, heavy at times will affect the mountains, passes and valleys of western Montana. Roads will likely become slick during this time frame with a period of blowing snow producing dramatic visibility reductions. There is still some uncertainty as to the placement of the heaviest snow and actual amounts. Thus confidence is placed in the moderate range.

3: Northeast winds will help large waves to develop on area lakes as the front passes. Of particular concern is Flathead Lake where conditions could become quite choppy, possibly causing damage to unprepared boats. Confidence in lake conditions becoming poor is high. Please take the next few days to prepare for the upcoming winter storm!


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