Winter weather hits the area again, and more to come

Havre Daily News/Lindsay Brown

Snow falls on a Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway train Tuesday Morning.

The switch again has been flipped with the on-again, off-again winter weather in the area, with snow falling this morning in north-central Montana and temperatures expected to plummet below zero tonight.

National Weather Service announced a wind chill advisory for Blaine, Hill and Liberty counties through 11 o'clock tonight, and a winter storm warning with wind chill advisories in effect for Chouteau County through 5 p. m.

The wind chills are expected to be minus 20 to minus 30 degrees.

While little snow is expected in Blaine, Hill and Liberty counties and the Big Sandy area — although light snow was falling steadily in Havre all morning — the Chouteau County storm warning calls for 5 inches to 10 inches of accumulation in and around the Highwood Mountains.

The wind chill advisory ranges from Toole County east and south, covering the eastern border of Montana.

Winter weather warnings and advisories are in place for much of central and southwest and western Montana.

The storm also is expected to blanket south-central and southeast Montana, although the weather is expected to be less severe in that region, with an inch or so of snow expected to fall and lows in the single digits to teens tonight in that region.

The actual low for Havre is predicted to hit minus 10 tonight and minus 6 Wednesday before warming again later in the week.

The low Thursday is expected to be 12 above with the high Friday 36, Weather Service predicts.

Snow is predicted through today, with a chance of snow showers through Thursday. Less than an inch of accumulation was expected today, with a half-inch to an inch expected tonight and Wednesday.

The snow still is on the ground in most parts of the region from the last major snowstorm, when Winter Storm Gandolf dropped more than a foot of snow in this region Jan. 10-13.

The weather has been mild for January in Montana since then, with little snow and temperatures ranging from highs of 20s to the 40s, including 30s to 40 over the last week.