Advisory Archive
Montana is under the influence of two powerful weather systems. At 4 a.m. this morning the mountains around Cooke City have received a total of 16" of new snow. The southern Gallatin and Madisons have received 6-12" with most snowfall being around West Yellowstone. Only a trace has fallen in the northern areas. Winds for these areas are strong out of the W-SW at 20-25 mph and will continue throughout today. An additional 6" will accumulate by tomorrow morning in the southern ranges. Big Sky will pick up 2-4 inches by tomorrow while the northern Gallatin Range and Bridgers will only receive a trace.
Wow - I spent a majority of yesterday outside and could feel my hands and feet the entire time. It's amazing how 15 degrees can feel like a heat wave. The next few days will keep the warm spell going with high temperatures extending into the mid to high twenties with Lows dropping into the teens. Winds and precipitation will be mixed depending on your location. Far southern Montana will be in a moist southwesterly flow with 4-6 inches of snow possible by Sunday afternoon. Winds in the south will be strong out of the W-SW at 20-30 mph. In the northern Gallatin and Madison Ranges along with the Bridgers conditions will remain drier with winds out of the west at 15-25 mph. 1-3 of snow can be expected in these ranges by Sunday afternoon. The Bridgers did receive a trace of new snow overnight.
This morning mountain temperatures are a few degrees above zero F with winds blowing 10-25 mph and gust up to 35 mph generally from the west and slightly southwest. The Gallatin and Madison Ranges received a trace to 2 inches of snow and the mountains near Cooke City received 2-3 inches. Currently more cold air is descending from Canada while pacific moisture is moving up from central and northern California. Neither of these systems will affect southwest Montana today, and temperatures will climb into the mid teens under partly cloudy skies. Westerly ridgetop winds will remain strong blowing up to 25 mph. By tomorrow morning the tip of this Pacific moisture will reach West Yellowstone depositing an inch of snow with snowfall continuing through the day.
With recent temperatures dipping into negative double digits, a mere -5 degrees F seemed relatively warm as I walked into the office this morning. Mountain temperatures were near -10 degrees F this morning except near Cooke City where they were -20 degrees F. Winds have been blowing 15-30 mph from the west northwest and will continue at those speeds today with temperatures warming to just above zero. Since yesterday morning snow showers produced a trace to one inch of new snow, and today some snow may fall but will not accumulate.
Cold temperatures continue to dominate our weather. Mountain temperatures bottomed to -25 yesterday before "warming" to our current temp of -15. Winds picked up yesterday afternoon blowing west to southwest at 15-25 mph. Today, under cloudy skies, the heat wave will raise the thermometer to near zero, but stiff westerly winds will create a brutal wind chill. Small amounts of moisture will roll through bringing scattered showers, but less than an inch of accumulation. In essence, today's another great day to train for a climb of Denali.
How cold is it? It's so cold that I had to put my hands in the freezer to warm them up. Yesterday, the coldest temperatures were -25 at the crest of the Bridgers. Current temperatures range from -2 near West Yellowstone to -22 in the Bridgers. Winds are currently calm but will start blowing out of the west-southwest at 20 mph later today. The only precipitation was in the mountains around Cooke City and West Yellowstone where a trace to one inch of snow fell. An arctic high pressure system will keep skies sunny and the air chilly. Mountain temperatures will only rise to single digits below zero before dropping again tonight.
In October I sat through an El Nino lecture by a meteorologist explaining how warm and dry it would be into December. Yeah, right. He's eating crow while we freeze out fanny's off and ski in snows that are 117-125% of normal around Bozeman (only 50-70% near West Yellowstone).
Southwest Montana is in the firm grip of an arctic air mass. Subzero ambient air temperatures are dominating the weather pattern. These frigid temperatures are accompanied by 15-25 mph winds out of the N-NE with light precipitation. Bridger Bowl received one inch of snow yesterday afternoon. This combination of wind and extremely cold air has created dangerous wind chill factors throughout our region, sending the real feel temperature to as low as 35-45 F below zero. Today, highs will struggle to creep above 0 F with lows plummeting to -25 F tonight. Winds of 10-15 mph will be felt at lower elevations today with ridgetop winds reaching 25-35 mph. Winds will begin to decrease early Tuesday with temperatures starting to warm on Wednesday.
A moist cold front has descended from Canada, delivering snow and cold temperatures to southwest Montana. Since yesterday morning three more inches fell in the Bridgers bringing the storm total to 12" above 8,500 ft with 6 inches falling on the lower elevations. The northern Gallatin Range received a total of 5 inches while the mountains around Big Sky picked up 2 inches with West Yellowstone and Cooke City only receiving a trace. Strong winds also arrived with this storm blowing 15-25 mph out of the N-NE. This moisture-laden cold front will exit our area by this afternoon giving way to drier and much colder conditions. Temperatures will hover around zero today with lows reaching 15-20 below zero for the next few nights. Winds will continue to blow 10-20 mph out of E-NE. These winds will generate dangerous wind chills as cold as 35 below zero, by far the coldest we've seen this season.