Snow, colder temps expected

While a skiff of wintry weather is expected to continue through this week, a return to severe winter weather still is not expected before Christmas, the National Weather Service predicts.

A bit of snow and cool temperatures were hitting Havre and the region this morning, leaving a cover of white in the area, with more snowshowers expected through midweek, but the weather definitely is milder than in December 2011.

Last year, snow hit the region in mid-November, with temperatures below zero on several days long before Christmas, and the snow sticking through the late spring.

This year, some minor amounts of snow have hit the region, and some colder temperatures have come through, but no major accumulations have stuck in north-central Montana.

The National Weather Service foreacast this morning called for a chance of snow through the early afternoon, switching to mostly sunny skies and warmer temperatures later this afternoon and through Tuesday.

The forecast calls for a slight chance of snow again Wednesday through Thursday night, with high temperatures in the 20s to low 30s.

The weather again is expected to turn to mostly sunny skies through the weekend, with highs expected in the upper 30s Saturday and Sunday, above the normal temperatures for this time of year, with the eight- to 14-day forecast calling for above normal temperatures and above-normal precipitation across Montana.

The snowfall and highs in the 20s, with lows in the single digits, expected midweek are just a prelude to the weather expected later in the winter.

Meteorologists have forecast another heavy winter, similar to what was seen last year, starting about Christmas-time or after the first of the year. Patterns, including the La Niña pattern on the equatorial Pacific Ocean and patterns in the ocean off northern Alaska, have led to forecasts of above-normal precipitation December through June and below-normal temperatures from January through April.

The latest forecast by the Climate Prediction Center continues to call for a strong la Niña pattern through January, with below-normal temperatures and above-normal snowfall. The models are split 50-50 for the chance of the weather pattern weakening in later winter, likely to return to more normal temperatures and precipitation, and for the la Niña pattern to continue, the report released Thursday says.