Forecast calls for a fair Thanksgiving

Winter finally reared its icy head in north-central Montana this weekend, but the National Weather service is predicting its leaving for a bit and letting more normal weather to prevail over the holiday.

Snow fell in the region Friday night, Saturday and Sunday, with enough to leave the landscape white. The exact amount of snowfall was not available from the Weather Service as of deadline this morning.

The temperatures plummeted, leaving sub-zero marks registering on thermometers across the area.

In Havre, the high of 22 degrees Friday dropped down to a low of 3 degrees over the night as the snow started to fall, with the high Saturday at a chilly 11 above and the low dropping to 11 below zero.

The low recorded for Sunday was 13 below, with a high of 14 above zero.

The weather still was nowhere near record extremes for the region. The record high for Havre on Nov. 20 was 65 degrees, set in 1968, 2002 and 2009, with the record low a frigid 33 below zero, set in 1896.

By this morning, temperatures already had moderated, with the Weather Service reporting a 9:30 a. m. temperature of 13 degrees at its station by the Havre City-County Airport, and a forecast high near 38 degrees.

Moderate weather is forecast through the Thanksgiving holiday and the weekend, with highs Tuesday and Wednesday expected in the high 40s and 50s and lows near or above freezing.

The weather service is warning of high winds in the Rockies and along the Rocky Mountain Front from late this afternoon through Wednesday, with sustained west winds from 30 mph through 45 mph and gusts as high as 70 mph, and gusts on ridgetops and some Rocky Mountain canyons as high as 85 mph.

The high forecast for Thursday is near 49, with partly sunny skies and a slight chance of rain and snow showers Thursday night with a low near 22.

Friday's forecast calls for a slight chance of snow showers, with mostly sunny and breezy conditions and a high near 41 and a low near 22.

The forecast for Saturday calls for mostly sunny skies with a high near 45 and a low near 27 degrees.