539
FXUS65 KMSO 101844
AFDMSO
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
1244 PM MDT MON MAR 10 2025
DISCUSSION
KEY MESSAGES:
- OCCASIONAL PASS LEVEL SNOW AND ASSOCIATED SLICK ROADS, MAINLY
OVERNIGHT/MORNING PERIODS THROUGHOUT THE WEEK.
- RAIN/SNOW MIX IN THE VALLEYS WITH LIMITED ROAD IMPACTS.
- CONTINUED COOL AND UNSETTLED NEXT WEEKEND.
BREEZY WINDS WILL GRADUALLY DIMINISH INTO THIS EVENING AS TODAY'S
COLD FRONT WASHES OUT JUST SOUTH OF THE I-90 CORRIDOR. AN
UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE AND WAVES OF MOISTURE WILL LEAD TO PERIODIC
SHOWERS, PARTICULARLY ALONG THE I-90 CORRIDOR AND ABOUT 50 MILES
EITHER SIDE OF IT INTO TUESDAY. TEMPERATURES WILL BE COLD ENOUGH
FOR SNOW TO ACCUMULATE ON ROADWAYS AT LOOKOUT AND LOLO PASSES
TUESDAY MORNING WHERE 2 TO 4 INCHES OF SNOW ARE THE MOST LIKELY
FORECAST. ANY ROAD IMPACTS SHOULD BE LIMITED TO THE PASSES AS
VALLEYS HAVE ABOVE FREEZING ROAD TEMPERATURES WITH ONLY A FEW
RAIN/SNOW SHOWERS OVERCOMING THE DOWNSLOPING.
MOISTURE CONTINUES TO STREAM OVER THE NORTHERN ROCKIES WEDNESDAY
INTO THURSDAY. SNOW LEVELS RISE TO 4000-5000 FEET ON WEDNESDAY
WITH THE PASSES ALONG THE ID/MT BORDER RECEIVING ANOTHER SEVERAL
INCHES OF SNOW LATE WEDNESDAY INTO THURSDAY AND PERHAPS A COVERING
OF SNOW ON ROADWAYS DURING OVERNIGHT/MORNING PERIODS. SNOW LEVELS
DROP TO VALLEY FLOORS LATE THURSDAY BUT PRECIPITATION APPEARS
DISORGANIZED AND SHOWERY INTO FRIDAY. THIS WOULD BE THE BEST
OPPORTUNITY FOR VALLEY SNOW BUT PROBABILITIES HAVE TRENDED
DOWNWARD FOR AN INCH OR MORE OF SNOW. GENERALLY LESS THAN A 30%
CHANCE FOR THE VALLEYS ALONG THE DIVIDE AND LESS THAN A 15% CHANCE
FOR VALLEYS ALONG THE US-93 CORRIDOR, ALONG WITH THE CAMAS
PRAIRIE.
ENSEMBLES CONTINUE TO HAVE GREAT SUPPORT FOR ANOTHER TROUGH OVER
THE WESTERN U.S. LATER THIS WEEKEND INTO EARLY THE FOLLOWING WEEK
MARCH 16-18) WITH MORE MOUNTAIN SNOWFALL, ESPECIALLY ALONG THE
ID/MT BORDER AND IN NORTHWEST MONTANA. BUT ONCE AGAIN, MOST MODEL
SOLUTIONS DON’T SHOW AN ORGANIZED SYSTEM WITH WIDESPREAD
PRECIPITATION BUT RATHER SHOWERY SPRING CONDITIONS AND LIMITED
VALLEY IMPACTS.
AVIATION
A COLD FRONT WILL WASH OUT OVER NORTH-CENTRAL IDAHO
AND WEST-CENTRAL MONTANA THIS AFTERNOON WITH GUSTY WINDS
DIMINISHING INTO THIS EVENING FOR TERMINAL LOCATIONS. THE
ATMOSPHERE WILL BE UNSTABLE INTO TUESDAY, THUS PERIODIC SHOWERS
AND MOUNTAIN OBSCURATIONS ARE ANTICIPATED ALONG AND JUST
NORTH/SOUTH OF THE I-90 CORRIDOR. SHOWERS WILL BE MOST FOCUSED ON
THE TERRAIN BUT VALLEYS WILL SEE A FEW SHOWERS WHICH COULD BRIEFLY
DROP CEILINGS/VISIBILITY, MAINLY FOR KMSO EARLY TUESDAY MORNING.
MSO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
MT...NONE.
ID...NONE.
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