Winter promises to hang on through end of February

The National Weather Service in Missoula is calling for a winter blast this weekend, particularly for the area from Polson down to the southern Bitterroot Valley, where even valley locations could see a foot of snow. Places like Lolo Pass could see upwards of two feet of snow.

The Flathead Valley is expected to be on the northern fringe of the storm, with 4 to 6 inches of snow expected in valley locations over the weekend and more at Marias Pass.

Slick roads from a light snow Friday morning caused a one-vehicle rollover crash in Bad Rock Canyon. A man and his passenger and a dog were unhurt.

The driver said he caught the slush in the middle of the road and went sideways into the canyon wall. Buffered by snow, the vehicle did not appear to be heavily damaged, but it was tipped on its side.

The snow will come with plenty of cold Saturday night all the way into Wednesday. Low temperatures are expected to drop to near or below zero on Tuesday and Wednesday morning.

Winds from the northeast in Bad Rock Canyon could reach 20 to 30 mph on Sunday night and into Monday as an arctic front blows in.

The high temperature Sunday in Glacier Park is 6 to 13 degrees. Highs will be in the teens on Monday and in the 20s on Tuesday, but partly cloudy skies after the front blows through will make for chilly nights.

The weather is expected to moderate a bit by the end of next week, with highs near 30 degrees.

Snowfall this winter has established a good snowpack this winter. The Flathead River Basin currently is at 16 percent above average, but some places are much higher. Badger Pass on the Continental Divide is at 34 percent above average, and Emery Creek near the Hungry Horse Reservoir is at 21 percent above average.