Updated: Winter weather expected to return to region

As of Tuesday afternoon, the National Weather Service in Great Falls has issued a Winter Storm Watch for Havre and Hill County as well as a Winter Storm Warning for Blaine County. The NWS says that a possible 4-6 inches of snow is expected to fall between 8 p.m. tonight and 8 a.m. Wednesday, and the storm will be accompanied by wind gusts up to 40 miles per hour, as well as temperatures falling into the single digits. Travel is not advised.

It’s about to be month number eight. Yes, as March now turns to April, and spring has been here for weeks, winter is showing no signs of going away without a fight, with the first snow eight months ago.

Today through Thursday, Havre, the Hi-Line and much of Montana is expected to see a return to winter weather.

According to the National Weather Service in Great Falls, temperatures are expected to fall back to well-below normal for the remainder of the week, while snow is also in the forecast.

Today’s high is projected to be 43 degrees, but tonight’s low is set to fall to 14 while Wednesday has a high of just 26, Wednesday night’s low is 13 and Thursday’s high is just 27.

The normal high for April 1-3 is 51 degrees. Temps are expected to warm back up some by the weekend, but still remain well-below average.

As for snow, a 20 percent chance of snow is in the forecast for this afternoon, followed by a 50 percent chance of snow for tonight and a 50 percent chance of snow Wednesday. Weather Service is predicting snowfall amounts of less than one inch tonight and less than one half inch Wednesday.

Weather Channel’s predictions are heavier, with 1-3 inches expected tonight. Accumulations for the mountains are expected to be between 5-8 inches, including areas of the Bear Paw Mountains.

No matter the amounts, if the snow sticks in the coming days, that will mark the eighth straight month in which Havre was seen accumulating snow, although the winter months were considered mild, where Havre saw just over 13 total inches of snow from Dec. 1 to Feb. 29.

Long-term, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration just released its April outlook, and for Havre and north-central Montana the temperatures are expected to be well-below average for the month, while other parts of Montana, particularly west of the Continental Divide, are slated to experience at or slightly below average temperatures for April. That holds true for much of the Pacific Northwest, however, for the rest of the lower 48 states, temperatures for April are supposed be above average to well-above average.