While a weak ridge has mostly dried the skies across Montana, a NW flow aloft delivered a few shortwaves across the NW corner of the state over the past 48-hours. Whitefish was the recipient of roughly 4” since Thanksgiving. The ridge axis off the PNW coast moves inland Sunday and resides over the state through Thurs. The ridge then weakens, allowing a weak storm Thu PM/Fri and another on Sat/Sun.

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! When the weather gets boring I am very thankful for long-range models. Let's take a look at what they are showing.

High pressure will take firm control of the west over the next few weeks, pushing storms north into Canada. A few systems, albeit on the weak side, will trickle some moisture into the northern Rockies. When can we see a pattern change?

A cold airmass will settle over Eastern North America with lake effect snow showers expected this weekend and into early next week. Deep totals are expected in some areas of Michigan and Western New York, while Northern Vermont will also do well. The Western U.S. will enter an extended dry period as the storm track lifts into Northern British Columbia.

Thanks for reading this summer! For the rest of this week, a cold front moving across the Central Rockies will bring showers & t-storms to WY, CO, & NM Wed-Thu while the West Coast states will see a late-season heat wave. Next week, isolated to scattered showers & t-storms develop across the West with continued mild temps. Heading into mid-month, the PNW will trend wetter and cooler.