Cold Temperatures and Possible Snow in the Forecast for Missoula

Summer will be a distant memory by the end of the week if forecasts by the National Weather Service Office in Missoula are accurate.

Meteorologist Trent Smith said on Monday morning that all of western Montana will be falling under the influence of a cold front coming down out of Canada.

“We are looking at a big change in the weather this coming weekend,” said Smith. “We have a couple of disturbances that will affect the region starting with the Wednesday-Thursday time frame that will bring some precipitation and maybe even some snow to the higher terrain of Northwest Montana.”

Smith said Missoula will get a brief taste of fall early in the week, but that the weekend will bring the most major effects.

“The big thing is this weekend,” he said. “We have a very strong system that’s anticipated to move down over the region. The details are still a little murky this far out, but we’re looking at widespread cold temperatures and precipitation with it. We’re probably going to see that snow even down in the valley bottoms. It’s probably not going to stick to too much but we are looking at snow.”

Smith pointed out where the weather system will have the most impact.

“The heaviest impacts will be along the Continental Divide and down into Butte where they may see a few inches of snow come Monday morning,” he said. “The big thing after that is just the cold temperatures. We’re looking at widespread freezing or near-freezing temperatures Sunday and Monday mornings.”