Simon’s weekly local weather outlook

Wed. through Sat., Feb. 21 –24
Not as cold with a chance of snow. Lows in the single digits to near 20 with lower teens around 5000 feet. Highs in the mid 20s to mid 30s with upper teens around 5000 feet.

In-depth weather discussion for Northwest Montana/Rockies
Issued Sunday, Feb. 17 at 5 p.m.
Storm system is going pretty much as expected with some impressive snowfall totals since snow began around 5:00 a.m. in the Libby area where we have seen around 10 inches so far with more on the way. Heavier amounts have fallen on the West side of the Cabinet Mountains so if you live in the Bull Lake or Heron area send in your snow totals. Snow has become more convective now as the surface low is approaching the region and the associated instability with it will trigger rounds of intense snow showers or even snow squalls through the rest of the night. As the arctic boundary begins to move southward from Canada and westward from the Continental Divide snowfall will increase once again and this time become more focused along and east of the Cabinet Mountains specifically for the Libby area. Expect an additional 5 to 10 inches of snow for most valleys below 4000 feet by Sunday afternoon with perhaps as much as 18 inches of snow above 4000 feet in the Cabinet Mountains and Scotchman Peaks area. Snow will decrease from north to south on Sunday but gusty east to northeast winds will be brisk and producing dangerously cold wind chills especially in the higher elevations along with blowing and drifting of snow. Winds should decrease Sunday night leading to some cold temperatures next week as we will remain in north to northwest flow. There ap-pears to be a little more lift in the flow with todays model runs which means a little more cloud cover and possibilities of flurries or light snow which would also tend to help keep temperatures from plummeting as much. More active weather looks set to move in towards the middle to end of next week but timing is a bit in question so will simply broad brush the extended outlook with a chance of snow. Temperatures will remain colder than normal for late February but will moderate some from the very cold temperatures we will see the next few days.
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