Bitter cold, snow expected for Christmas weekend
Snow clings to trees along Whitefish Lake. (Heidi Desch/Whitefish Pilot)
It’s beginning to look a lot like winter in Northwest Montana, with bitter cold, heavy snow and dangerous winds in the forecast for Christmas Day and beyond.
Meteorologists with the National Weather Service in Missoula say western Montana residents need to be ready for “extreme” conditions beginning today through next week.
Light snow and freezing rain will impact the area today as highs creep into the upper 30s. A cold front from the northeast barges into the area Friday, bringing snow squalls and vigorous snow bands.
The bulk of the Arctic air mass is on track to settle over the area by Christmas Day, with thermometers plummeting each day next week.
“Each day is going to cool even further,” said Dan Dumpfe with the Weather Service in Missoula.
By next Wednesday morning, there is an 85% chance of subzero temperatures in Kalispell.
“Some of the more pessimistic forecasts put temperatures at lower than negative 20 degrees, and even negative 30 degrees, by the time we get to Thursday morning [Dec. 30],” said Dumpfe.
Accumulating snow will also be a factor in Northwest Montana.
By Monday, Kalispell residents could be shoveling up to 8 inches of snow. One forecast shows the Flathead Valley getting more than 10 inches over the three-day period.
Lookout Pass on I-90 west of Missoula, meanwhile, could get hammered with nearly 3 feet of snow.
Dumpfe emphasized that people who plan to travel need to plan ahead and pack a survival kit.
“With these really cold temperatures and the wind coming over the east side of the Divide, now is the time to prepare,” he said.
Northwest Montana snowfall so far this season is trending ahead of average. The Flathead Basin snow water equivalent is at 107% of normal, the highest percentage in the state, while the Kootenai is at 100%.
A weather station at Noisy Basin in the Swan Range shows 54 inches of snow, similar to the 55 inches on the summit of Big Mountain. Whitefish Mountain Resort reports 2 feet of new snow over the last week.
The weather station at Glacier Park International Airport has recorded about 14 inches of snowfall so far this month, ahead of the month-to-date average of 10 inches.