Montana Weather March 4 Evening - 20° Above Normal

Good evening. Montana. I'm Aaron Jolly. That gray ceiling overhead? It's the leading edge of real change. We're sitting at 43 degrees under overcast skies right now, but a Pacific cold front is slicing through the Northern Rockies as we speak. By morning, winter makes a brief comeback. In the next 24 hours. Western Montana gets the first hit tonight. Rain develops this evening with snow levels crashing to around 3,000 feet by morning. You'll drop to a low of 34 degrees. Thursday keeps things interesting with a rain and snow mix throughout the day, topping out near 46 degrees. Central Montana sees rain rolling in overnight. Expect a low around 33 degrees as the wet stuff moves in. That rain transitions to snow by Thursday morning. Highs reach near 47 degrees, but gusts up to 22 miles an hour will make it feel raw. Eastern Montana holds onto the dry weather longest. Tonight brings mostly cloudy skies with a low near 37 degrees. Rain showers hold off until after 8 A.M. Thursday. You'll see the warmest temperatures in the state, hitting near 50 degrees. Heads up if you're traveling south. Winter Weather Advisories cover the Ruby Mountains and Southern Beaverhead Mountains through 9 A.M. Thursday. Two to four inches of snow combined with gusts to 40 miles an hour will make travel tricky over Monida Pass. Looking ahead, the weekend takes a sharp turn. Highs surge into the upper 50s and even 60s — that's running 15 to 20 degrees above normal for early March. But it comes with a price. Winds howl Saturday and Sunday, with gusts topping 50 miles an hour along the Rocky Mountain Front and foothills. Another system arrives Monday, bringing cooler air and chances for rain and snow. Tonight's full moon will have some competition from all those clouds. We saw sunrise at 6:57 this morning, sunset at 6:12 this evening. And we're gaining over three minutes of daylight every single day now. For the extended outlook, check the latest forecast as confidence improves. That's your forecast — we'll be back tomorrow.