Wednesday and Thursday, Dec. 13 and 14
Valley freezing fog and low clouds with patchy light freezing drizzle or flurries. Mostly sunny in the mountains above about 5000 feet. Lows in the 20s. Highs in the mid 20s to near 30. In the mountains around 5000 feet lows in the mid to upper 30s with highs in the lower to mid 40s Tuesday cooling about 10 degrees in both highs and lows by Wednesday and Thursday.
Friday and Saturday, Dec. 15 and 16
A chance of valley rain or snow showers and mountain snow showers. Turning cooler in the mountains but warmer in the valleys. Lows in the 20s in both valleys and mountains. Highs in the 30s to near 40 with lower 30s around 5000 feet.
Saturday, Dec. 16
In-depth weather discussion
Issued 12/9 at 4:45 p.m.
Strong upper level ridge remains in place with strong valley inversions. Yet again today those along the Clark Fork River and up into the Bull Lake and Troy regions broke out into sunshine this afternoon while all other areas remained under the low clouds. Expect low clouds and patchy freezing fog to redevelop in the areas that cleared out this afternoon shortly after sunset. At this point its very possible that the same areas will clear out once again on Sunday or they may remain overcast. A few flurries or freezing drizzle will continue to be possible from time to time in the valleys while mountains will continue to see abundant sunshine until perhaps late next week as the pattern begins to change. A shortwave upper level trough will move into the region Friday from the northwest which will help cool the mountains but will not really be strong enough to break valley inversions. Some light snow will be possible in the mountains with a mess possible in the valleys of some light snow, sleet, freezing rain or rain. That system quickly moves out only to be replaced by a slightly stronger shortwave upper trough on Saturday. Again, without much wind expected at this time this system too may bring a mess to valleys and snow to the mountains. This will begin the overall process of a pattern change that could potentially bring some very beneficial snowfall as we have officially fallen below normal for snowpack across the entire region.
