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12-23 Weather Update

By Steve Newton

Story Created: Dec 23, 2011 at 10:09 AM MDT

Story Updated: Dec 23, 2011 at 10:09 AM MDT

Unseasonably warm conditions will be the story of the next few days, as southwesterly winds will continue to warm the plains through the Christmas holiday. There are some weather advisories in effect.

A HIGH WIND WARNING is in effect until 11 p.m. Sunday for the Rocky Mountain Front. Sustained westerly winds of 35-45 mph are expected; with gusts up to 75 mph are possible.

A HIGH WIND WATCH will go into effect this evening for Eastern Glacier County, lasting until Sunday evening. Sustained winds of 30-40 mph are expected around Cut Bank, with gusts up to 65 mph possible. Winds could affect high-profile vehicles and cause blowing snow that could reduce visibilities.

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect for Central and Southern Lewis and Clark County until noon today. Wind gusts up to 30 mph could reduce visibilities along Highway 200 between Bowman’s Corner and Lincoln. Rogers Pass is included in this advisory.

Today, temperatures will be in the low to mid 40s around Great Falls. Temps around Helena will be slightly cooler without the downslope winds, reaching to the mid to upper 30s. The winds will also drag some cloud cover over the area at times.

Overnight Friday into Saturday, temperatures will drop into the teens and 20 across much of the state. Areas along the Rocky Mountain Front could see lows around 30, and wake up to the mid 30s on Christmas Eve.

I’m expecting another dry day Christmas Eve; and temperatures a couple degrees warmer than what we’ll see today. This pattern will continue through Christmas Sunday, bringing temperatures into the 50s in some spots! Temperatures across the region will be about 10-15 degrees above normal through the entire weekend.

It looks like Monday will be cooler, but the return to “normal” will be around Wednesday, when a system could move through, providing a little bit of snow.

We’ll get to winter at some point, but we might as well enjoy the fall-like weather while it’s here.

-Steve

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