Winter preview? Snow expected Sunday

Coinciding with the start of the general hunting season for elk and deer, National Weather Service predicted the first snowfall in this part of Montana to hit by Sunday night, followed by warmer weather later next week.

Weather Service issued a release at 4:39 Monday morning saying "confidence is increasing" that temperatures will drop in central and north-central Montana by the weekend, with a good chance of widespread snow in the mountains with rain in the lower elevations turning to snow by Sunday night.

"Since this weekend is the beginning of hunting season there is a danger that hunters and other outdoor recreationists could be caught unawares while in the backcountry," the release said. "Temperatures on Sunday afternoon could be as much as 30 degrees colder than Saturday. Heavy snow is possible in the mountains, especially on north facing slopes. Roads could turn slick, icy and snow-covered, even over the plains Sunday night and Monday."

The notice continued this morning, with Weather Service including ranchers tending to livestock in its caution statement.

Weather Service has not made specific long-range predictions for the winter in this part of the country saying, over all, the area has the same chance to experience a mild, normal or more severe winter.

Other weather prognosticators including Weather Channel and the Farmers' Almanac have predictions widely varying with the Weather Service and each other, including a prediction for a very cold and snowy winter in Montana.

Snow has again hit parts of the country already this week, just weeks after a severe storm hit the region including parts of Montana and leading to the deaths of two people and tens of thousands of head of cattle in South Dakota.

Temperatures dropped this week in a region from the Dakotas through the Great Lakes, dropping some snow in that region. Waterloo, Iowa, reported an inch of snow, with only two earlier days having an inch, the Weather Channel said.

The Weather Channel released its winter forecast Monday, with predictions similar to National Weather Service predictions. Weather Channel forecasts a colder November from parts of the High Plains including the eastern edge of Montana through most of the eastern United States, although New England is expected to be warmer than normal. Parts of Texas west through California are expected to be warmer than normal, while a band between High Plains and Texas regions - including most of Montana - is expected to be warmer than normal.

For December through February, Weather Channel predicts warmer-than-average temperatures in Texas and parts of Nebraska, Oklahoma, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona, with "variable" weather in the region including Montana, and, later in the season, cooler weather in the northeast and moderating weather in the southeast.

In the near term, Weather Channel predicts changes in north-central Montana weather over the weekend similar, though not as strongly worded, as the Weather Service forecast.

Weather Service predicts the high in Havre to drop from a forecast of 63 today to 52 Sunday and 34 Monday, with the low Sunday predicted at 23 degrees and a chance of rainshowers predicted each day.

AccuWeather predicts a high of 51 and a low of 26 Sunday, with its prediction also calling for rain.

After a chilly Monday, all three forecasters are predicting temperatures in the 40s to 50s for highs, according to Weather Channel and AccuWeather - through Halloween.