Winter staying locked in this region

The temperatures in this region are likely to be a little better than they were Saturday for Havre’s Holiday Stroll and Big Sandy’s Christmas Stroll, but forecasters are not predicting any break from wintry weather in the next week.

The weather didn’t seem to put any freeze on the Christmas activities Saturday, although some snow fell and the temperatures definitely were freezing in the region.

In Havre, for example, the National Weather Service recording station at the Havre City-County Airport reported a low Friday of minus 13, following a high of 1 degree, and Saturday’s high topped out at 18 degrees with the low that night at 2 degrees at 12:23 a.m. Sunday.

Sunday warmed up a bit, with the high in Havre reaching 29 degrees.

But the region, along with most of the northern two-thirds of Montana, is in a winter weather advisory from 5 p.m. today through Tuesday evening, later and more severe farther east.

Weather service reports 2 inches to 4 inches of snow are expected in Liberty, Chouteau and Hill counties through Tuesday evening with 2 inches to 8 inches expected in the Bear Paw Mountains and southern Blaine County.

Roads, especially bridges and overpasses, will likely become slick and hazardous and snow could reduce visibility at times, the advisory says.

Highs are expected to be in the teens to low 20s today, with lows below zero and the highs Tuesday in single digits and the lows Tuesday night to get near 10 below in some areas.

Highs the rest of the week are expected to be in the 20s with lows in the single digits to low teens, with slightly warmer temperatures predicted in the Bear Paws and Big Sandy area.