Montana Weather March 3 Evening - 20° Above Normal

Good evening. Montana. I'm Aaron Jolly. Right now a ridge of high pressure is parked over the Northern Rockies. And it's doing us a serious favor. That gray blanket overhead is hiding something special. Eastern Montana hits 66 degrees tomorrow. That's nearly 20 above normal for early March. In the next 24 hours. But enjoy it while the window's open. Because a Pacific storm is already locking onto us. Rain reaches western Montana by 8 A.M. Wednesday. By afternoon it's a soaker out there. Central Montana stays dry longer, with rain holding off until around 5 P.M. Out east? You get one more gorgeous day. Mostly sunny, 66 degrees, the kind of afternoon where you forget what month it's. Then rain catches up Wednesday night. Tonight, mostly cloudy across the board. Lows settle near 34 degrees in the west, 37 central, 36 out east. That full moon's up there somewhere, fighting through the clouds. Now here's where it gets interesting. The cold front crashes through Wednesday night. Snow levels plummet to valley floors by Thursday morning. Mountain passes could stack up eight inches or more. Foothill towns like Red Lodge might wake up to a few sloppy inches of slush. For the week ahead. Thursday brings cooler air with lingering rain and snow showers. Friday dries out briefly. Then the weekend flips the script again. Warm and windy, with gusts topping 50 miles an hour along the Rocky Mountain Front. Monday another system rolls in with more rain and snow chances. We're gaining over three minutes of daylight every day now. Spring equinox is just two weeks out. But winter's got one more card to play. Charge your phone tonight and check those wiper blades. Wednesday's coming in wet. For the extended outlook, check the latest forecast as confidence improves. That's your forecast — we'll be back tomorrow.