FIRST ALERT FORECAST: Early look at your weekend forecast

“Snow levels 6,500′ with 1″ – 2″ possible by morning. Not only will this bring a burst of cool air into the region, but a few showers and storms may develop during the latter half of the day.

With that warmth will come the chance for widespread rain showers Wednesday afternoon and early evening. Tuesday night our low temperatures will rise as the rain continues to fall.

The cold front will clear the skies for Wednesday and Thursday.

Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 68.

We start our Thursday morning on a chilly note as there is definitely still a stiff breeze out there. I suspect Fredericksburg area thermometers will record Tuesday’s highs in the upper 50s to near 60 degrees. With the breeze, however, it will feel like it’s in the 20s!

Most valley locations across western Montana will be impacted with light snow. As a lead wave ejects around the basal portion of this trough, another strong surface front will roll southward, entering northern Oklahoma Friday midday or afternoon and quickly moving into southern Oklahoma by afternoon or evening. Clouds will increase tonight with lows in the upper 30s.

This week promises to be a pleasant one in terms of temperatures, and it’s about time! There’s a chance of isolated showers and storms tomorrow, closer to the coast.

Most of the state turns out partly sunny on Friday.

Your WIS First Alert Weather Team is also keeping an eye on an area of low pressure that is forecast to move through the Southeast U.S.by Saturday, then offshore. South of that line, we can see significantly higher totals with moderate to heavy snow. Timing and intensity of these storms is still in question, but rain coverage is forecast to be at 40% and this number will likely change. Expect morning lows in the lower 60s with daytime highs in the mid 70s. Winds will be strong yet again, but there is some uncertainty in exactly how strong.

SUNDAY: (Early mix/snow?) Party sunny.

Above is a look at potential snow accumulations that could impact SW Montana Thursday through early Saturday morning.

Rain could switch to snow by the afternoon as the air cools, especially in places northwest and north of Richmond, such as Charlottesville and Fredericksburg. “If it snows and it’s a dry snow, it may not help too much”, she said.