Winter wallop headed for Northwest Montana

With the impending snow storm, weather reports indicate a white Christmas this year. (Kathleen Woodford/Mineral Independent)

A recent winter-weather dry spell coated the region and now a winter storm watch has been called for this week. (Kathleen Woodford/Mineral Independent).

by Mineral Independent
| December 20, 2017 4:00 AM

A recent winter-weather dry spell coated the region and now a winter storm watch has been called for this week. (Kathleen Woodford/Mineral Independent).

An arctic cold front is expected Friday and Saturday, with lows in the single digits and below zero expected during the Christmas Eve weekend.

Wind gusts will accompany the cold weather, leading to the possibility of drifting snow and hazardous driving conditions over the holiday weekend.

The National Weather Service was predicting heavy snow in some areas of Northwest Montana this week, although as few as 2 or 3 inches was possible in Mineral County.

Up to 50 inches could fall in the mountains of Glacier Park. Snowfall totals in the Flathead Valley was expected to be in the 8 to 14 inches range.

Lesser amounts of 3 to 6 inches of snow were expected in the Mission Valley, with 2 to 3 inches possible in Missoula.

The Weather Service says Christmas Day “could be one of the coldest in many years.” Low temperatures will be below zero while high temperatures struggle to reach the single digits.