textproduct: Great Falls

KEY MESSAGES

- Short lived warmth this weekend, then trending cooler and unsettled for next week. - Mountain snow/lower elevation rain expected Sunday and Monday. - Second system arrives Thursday and Friday, bringing another round of lower elevation rain/mountain snow to the area.

UPDATE

/Issued 842 PM MDT Sat Mar 28 2026/

A Winter Weather Advisory has been issued for the East Glacier Park Region from Sunday evening through Monday morning due to the combination of accumulating and blowing snow. Latest NBM probabilities support a 75% chance for 4" or more of snow at Marias Pass and a 25% chance for 8" or more. The higher elevations of Glacier National Park have 70+% chance of seeing amounts exceed 8" over this timeframe, with even a 15% chance of 18" or more of snow at Logan Pass. Increasing cross barrier flow through the day and overnight hours on Sunday will lead to strengthening southwest winds, with frequent wind gusts of between 45-55 mph being common along and west of the US Hwy 89 corridor and localized gusts up to 65 mph. These strong winds combined with the falling snow will lead to reductions in visibility due to blowing snow, with the Monday morning commute being impacted. - Moldan

DISCUSSION

/Issued 842 PM MDT Sat Mar 28 2026/

Weak upper level ridging over the Western US has brought a return to warmer, albeit cloudy, weather to the Treasure State, at least temporarily. Clouds will continue to increase through the day today and overnight tonight as our next weather system approaches, with snow beginning to fall over the Continental Divide tomorrow afternoon before precipitation spreads eastward Sunday evening. Expect most of the precipitation from this system to be light, with the only areas susceptible to more impactful amounts being over Kings Hill Pass (where 2-4 inches of snow are expected) and over Marias Pass (where 6-10 inches of snow are expected).

This system will clear the area late Monday and Tuesday, which will allow warmth to return to the area for Wednesday as temperatures soar back into the mid 50s to low 60s. The return of above average temperatures will not last long, however, as yet another (though likely stronger) upper level trough will push into the area Wednesday night and into Thursday, bringing another round of cooler temperatures and another chance for widespread mountain snow and lower elevation rain. Behind this system, northwesterly flow aloft will keep us a bit cooler and generally cloudy with some higher terrain snowfall. Ludwig

AVIATION

29/06Z TAF Period.

Scattered to broken mid-level cloud cover will exist through much of the 2906/3006 TAF period, with the exception of the Hi-Line where scattered to broken IFR/MVFR CIGS in wake a weak cold front will exist through 15-18z Sunday. Additionally, patchy fog/mist can't be ruled out at the KCTB terminal through this timeframe, most notably between 10-16z Sunday. Otherwise, Pacific moisture overspreading the Northern Rockies beyond 18z Sunday will bring increasing chances for precipitation to the Continental Divide, along with around a 30% chance for rain at the KHVR, KGTF, and KLWT beyond 29/21z to 30/00z. - Moldan

PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS

GTF 34 60 39 42 / 10 20 50 40 CTB 21 51 27 33 / 0 10 20 30 HLN 33 63 34 43 / 0 10 50 40 BZN 34 69 37 48 / 20 10 30 70 WYS 27 59 34 48 / 10 10 10 70 DLN 35 66 43 50 / 0 0 10 30 HVR 27 52 34 42 / 10 20 50 40 LWT 34 58 34 40 / 20 30 60 60

TFX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

Winter Weather Advisory from 8 PM Sunday to 10 AM MDT Monday for East Glacier Park Region.