Weather forecast doesn't bode well for Sun Road opening

The weather forecast doesn’t bode well for a Going-to-the-Sun Road opening Saturday. Glacier has cleared the road of winter snows, but the pass could see a wintry mix from Thursday into Saturday.

Park officials have said the earliest the road would open over the pass this year would be June 22 because of pavement sealing and other construction.

June 22 is Saturday, but a large low pressure system is expected to drop out of British Columbia starting late Thursday, all day Friday and Saturday morning.

Along the divide, rain amounts could be as high as 3 inches, said National Weather Service meteorologist Trent Smith. But the snow level will be about 6,000 feet.

Logan Pass, which is at 6,646 feet, could see 1 to 2 inches of snow, elevations higher than that will see 3 to 6 inches as rain transitions to snow.

Backcountry travel promises to be raw and wet, with highs in the mountains only in the 30s and 40s and lower elevations in the 50s and 60s.

Smith said it’s not unusual for these type of systems to roll through in June.

Sunday things improve a little, with a high of about 70 in the valleys, but there’s still a 40 to 60 percent chance of rain in the park.

On the plus side, flooding isn’t expected.

The Sun Road on the west side is closed at Avalanche to vehicles. On the east side it’s closed at Jackson Glacier Overlook. For real-time road conditions, visit Glacier’s website at: https://www.nps.gov/applications/glac/roadstatus/roadstatus.cfm