West of the Divide:

Pretty nice snow totals overnight Sunday and into Monday with 10” at Whitefish and around 4” at Lookout Pass. Unstable air Monday night will keep the snow showers a coming in the range of 2-4” at Lost Trail Pass to the south and 1-3” at Whitefish to the north. In between there may be a stray snow shower for Discovery with maybe a trace to an inch. Temps will stay cool on Tuesday with numerous snow showers in the morning with partial clearing into the afternoon. Daytime highs in the low to mid 30’s should keep the snow fairly nice. The sun returns on Wednesday and Thursday (with a mix of clouds) with highs increasing each day with mid to upper 30’s Weds and up to the low 40’s Thursday. Late Thursday a strong cold front enters from the west with 5000’ and up snow levels at first lowering to valley floors by Friday morning. Currently there does not look to be much moisture with this system so accumulations do not look likely. Main impacts will be cooler temps on Friday with highs in the mid 30’s. The weekend looks to remain unsettled with unseasonably cold daytime temps with highs in the upper 20’s. Stay tuned for updates.

  

East of the Divide:

Northwest flow aloft will bring in a small disturbance Monday night that looks to bring a few inches to Big Sky mainly with a trace to an inch elsewhere. Tuesday will see clearing skies with daytime highs in the upper 20’s to low 30’s. Wednesday looks to be a mix of sun and clouds with perhaps a stray snow shower later in the day. Daytime highs will be warmer in the mid 30’s. Things get spring-like on Thursday with the passing of a weather system that looks to bring wet snow showers and high temps in the upper 30’s to low 40’s. Currently there does not look to be much accumulating snow on Thursday but things could get interesting Thursday night into Friday if a shortwave low moves into SW Montana. If this happens Big Sky could see moderate accumulations on Friday (3-6”) with the low moving slowly into Central Montana’s mountains by Saturday. Weather models are not in full agreement on this scenario just yet so please check back as I’ll be updating the forecast on Tuesday/Wednesday. Either way, we’re fairly sure that next weekend will bring unsettled weather and colder than seasonal averages temps.

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