Snow again in forecast

Weather forecasters again are expecting snow to hit the area in what would be a start-of-spring storm, after a previously expected storm fizzled in this region.

National Weather Service and Weather Channel both have a forecast of snow today and tonight — the first day of spring — and into Friday, with highs in the 20s and the low expected to drop into the single digits.

A winter weather advisory for this part of north-central Montana Monday and Tuesday essentially skipped this area, with heavy rain Monday morning but little snow that day or Tuesday.

The high today for Havre was predicted in the low 40s, with a 50 percent chance of snow predicted this afternoon and tonight, and up to 3 inches of new snow expected to accumulate.

Friday’s forecast calls for a 20 percent to 30 percent chance of snow with highs in the mid-20s and a low of 8 or 9 degrees.

After more 20-degree weather Saturday, with little to no chance of precipitation in the forecasts, the high temperatures are expected to creep back into the 30s Sunday and early next week, along with a chance of returning snow showers.

This winter has seen up-and-down weather, with the region recording the cold spot in the lower 48 states in December, followed by warm and generally dry weather for most of January, with more radical changes in temperatures and precipitation in February.

This week’s expected snow follows more than a week of springlike temperatures, with Havre recording a high temperature of 60 degrees Sunday.

The forecast for next week includes a chance of another storm in the winter-plagued Atlantic Coast.

Weather Channel reports that a storm system developing off the coast will bring wintry weather, but how much — if at all — that impacts the coast itself depends on exactly what route the storm takes as it moves north.