Winter hitting Montana again

Don’t put the hat and gloves away, or even the shovels. Winter is back, and not just for one day, either.

After last week’s wind, a huge Pacific winter storm is about to hit much of Montana.

What does that mean for Havre? It’s looking less likely Havre will receive a significant amount of snow with this latest spring storm.

According to the National Weather Service in Great Falls, Havre is expected to receive no more than one inch of snow over the next three days. The NWS has the area projected to see a 30 percent chance of flurries tonight, then a 50 percent chance of snow Tuesday, with less than a half inch expected. Tuesday night also has less than a half inch predicted, while Wednesday has just a 20 percent chance of snow predicted.

Temperatures, however, are definitely going to be winter-like.

Tonight’s low is set for just 17 degrees, followed by highs of just 27 Tuesday, a low of 15 Tuesday night, a high of just 27 Wednesday and a low of 12 Wednesday night. None of those temperatures will be record-setting, but, according to the NWS, the highs are nearly 30 degrees below normal, and the lows are more than 20 degrees below normal for this week.

The NWS also warns that the mixture of snow, wind and colder temperatures will be very dangerous for newborn livestock in the area, and will also be harmful to all emerging vegetation.

As for the totality of the storm, the NWS says it will begin impacting the Pacific Northwest today and tonight, with heavy snowfall in the Cascades. It will move into large swaths of Montana and Wyoming Tuesday, with a combination of heavy snow and strong winds likely to produce blizzard conditions from the eastern slopes of the Rockies to the northern Plains. The Rocky Mountain front and southeastern Montana are set to see the strongest impacts from there storm with snow totals between 3-5 inches along the front and up to 10 inches in the mountains. In southern Montana, along the I-90 corridor, are bracing for 8-12 inches, along with near-record lows, according to the National Weather Service. Far eastern Montana, and western North Dakota, could see as much as 12-18 inches in some areas, including Baker and Ekalaka and Miles City.

In all, 29 counties in Montana are currently under a Winter Storm Warning, while a handful more are under a Winter Weather Advisory. Presently, Liberty, Hill, Blaine and Phillips counties are under no warnings, while Chouteau County is under a Winter Weather Advisory, though much of the impacts will be felt in far southern and western Chouteau County.

The storm is projected to last until Wednesday night, but will also leave below-average cold behind it. For the Havre area, temperatures will only rise into the mid-30s for the weekend, before reaching the low 50s by next Tuesday. The average daily high for mid-April in Havre is 59 degrees.