West of the Divide:

Late Thursday observations across the Westside were not too exciting. 8500’ snow levels have brought rain showers to just about all resort/area summits. Thursday night’s cold front will bring snow levels back down to around 4000’ by Friday morning with accumulations mainly across the Idaho border with 1-2” remotely possible at Lookout and Lost Trail passes. Friday the colder air arrives and most precip’ moves east with a mix of cloudy/sunny skies with highs dipping back down into the low 30’s. Friday will be interesting as far as surface conditions go across the region. This weekend looks to stay a tad unsettled with the passing of a stronger cold front Saturday morning that has the best bet for accumulating snow with maybe 2-4” across the NW areas with 1-3” along and south of the I-90 corridor during the day. Let's hope this comes through to help soften the surfaces Saturday. Sunday looks to be a mix of snow showers, clouds and sun by afternoon with below average high temps in the upper 20’s to mid 30’s across the region. Next week things warm up with a high-pressure ridge building into the NW – but with a few embedded disturbances likely earlier in the week. Mountain temps will rise each day and possibly into the upper 40’s by mid-week.

East of the Divide:

The big Pacific low-pressure system keeps streaming a warm SW flow into the Eastside Thursday evening keeping snow levels at around 9000’. Late Thursday a cold front advances bringing the snow levels back down to area bases where the best scenario is 2-4” at Big Sky thru noon on Friday. Elsewhere, just colder temps to freeze yesterday’s thaw unfortunately. Friday, things look to partially clear out across the entire region with mostly cloudy skies with a few sunny spells also possible. Friday’s high temps will be in the low to mid 30’s so some south facing slopes could possibly soften up. Saturday through Sunday the weather looks to return to an unsettled snow-showery pattern with much colder daytime high temps ranging from mid-20’s around 30 elsewhere. Saturday 1-3” are possible at Big Sky, Bridger and even Showdown during the day as a cold front works its way over the Divide. Sunday will be the coldest day of this pattern with clearing skies but with still the chance of a stray snow shower that could drop an inch or so under those heavier cells. Still on track for drier skies and warmer temps to return early next week across the Eastside.

Backcountry Reports:

 

West Central Montana Avalanche Center

http://missoulaavalanche.org 

 

Flathead Avalanche Center

 http://www.flatheadavalanche.org

 

Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center:

http://www.mtavalanche.com

 

Geography Key :

 WEST of the Continental Divide

Montana Snowbowl, Discovery Basin, Lost Trail Powder Mountain, Lookout Pass, Whitefish Mountain Resort, Blacktail Mountain, Turner Mountain

 

EAST of the Continental Divide

Big Sky Resort, Bridger Bowl, Red Lodge Mountain, Maverick Mountain, Great Divide, Showdown