Snow may follow 60-degree weather

After a week of near summer-like weather, wintry conditions are expected to come back to north-central Montana with this morning’s rains turning to snow.

National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory for central Montana from Blaine and Fergus counties across the Great Divide into western Montana, with a trough of a more-severe winter weather warning stretching along the Rocky Mountain Front through western Chouteau County, and Cascade, Judith Basin and Meagher counties.

That follows more than a week of warm high temperatures, with the high recorded at the Havre City-County Airport west of Havre for Sunday 60 degrees. The normal high temperature for March 16 for Havre is 45 degrees.

The advisory, in effect through 6 p.m. Tuesday, says new snow accumulations are expected to be 2 inches to 4 inches in lower elevations and 4 inches to 8 inches above 4,000 feet.

The warning says new snow accumulations are expected to be 6 inches to 10 inches above 5,000 feet, with lower elevations receiving 2 inches to 4 inches.

The snow was expected to develop early this morning over the Northern Rocky Mountains and spread east and south across the state as the morning proceeded.

Weather Service’s forecast predicts a chance of additional rain and snow through most of the week, with the exception of Tuesday night and during the day Wednesday.

The high temperatures in that forecast are predicted to be in the 40s to low 50s through Wednesday with lows in the 20s to low 30s, then the highs in the forecast drop to the 30s for the beginning of the weekend.

The longer-range forecast calls for a chance of precipitation — possibly rain or snow — through early next week, with temperatures likely in the 30s to low 40s for highs and into the teens or 20s for lows.