Current:Home > MarketsThe 1st major snowstorm of the season is expected to hit the northern Rockies after a warm fall-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
The 1st major snowstorm of the season is expected to hit the northern Rockies after a warm fall
View Date:2024-12-24 00:33:50
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — The first major snowstorm of the season is expected to hit the northern Cascades and Rockies and move into North Dakota this week, sending residents searching for their winter coats, gloves and boots and facing much different driving conditions after a warm fall in many places.
The National Weather Service is warning of hazardous travel on snowy mountain passes and ice on some highways when snow initially melts and then freezes as road temperatures drop.
The storm is forecast to begin Tuesday with rain at lower elevations in Washington and snow in the mountains before spreading snow across northern Idaho, Montana, northwestern Wyoming and North Dakota.
Cold air moving down from northwestern Canada will combine with a moist Pacific weather system leading to freezing temperatures and snowfall amounts up to 18 inches (46 centimeters) in the mountains of Montana, the National Weather Service forecasts. Some higher elevations in the northern Rockies could see snow totals of 2 feet (61 centimeters) or more.
Central Montana will see the worst of the snow, said Matt Ludwig, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Great Falls.
“We kind of are the bull’s-eye,” he said.
The first snowfall of the season “is always the most dangerous because people just aren’t used to it yet” after driving for months on mostly dry pavement, Ludwig said. Drivers aren’t used to dealing with less traction, slower speeds and longer stopping distances, he said.
The forecasted snow prompted residents to make appointments to get their snow tires put on and caused some to realize their underground sprinkler systems needed service.
Things started picking up at Eagle Tire in Helena, Montana, where crews swapped out regular tires for snow tires on 30 vehicles on Monday, manager Payton Lester said. He said they had about 40 more appointments to do the same Tuesday.
At Spieker Sprinklers in Helena, the winterization program is full and they had to turn away callers Tuesday, owner Joe Spieker said.
The storm brings a sharp change in weather. Helena tied record temperatures in the lower 80s late last week, which is about 25 degrees above average for this time of year, Ludwig said. Great Falls also had a day in the low 80s late last week, and now those cities could see 8 inches (20 centimeters) of snow by Wednesday.
“If that’s not a shock to your system, I don’t know what is,” Ludwig said.
veryGood! (59)
Related
- Maryland man wanted after 'extensive collection' of 3D-printed ghost guns found at his home
- Fate of Netflix Series America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Revealed
- Taylor Swift's Mom Andrea Gives Sweet Nod to Travis Kelce at Chiefs Game
- 'SNL' stars jokingly declare support for Trump, Dana Carvey plays Elon Musk
- Kim Kardashian Says She's Raising Her and Kanye West's 4 Kids By Herself
- Veterans face challenges starting small businesses but there are plenty of resources to help
- Prayers and cheeseburgers? Chiefs have unlikely fuel for inexplicable run
- Chet Holmgren injury update: Oklahoma City Thunder star suffers hip fracture
- Pitchfork Music Festival to find new home after ending 19-year run in Chicago
- Cruise ship rescues 4 from disabled catamaran hundreds of miles off Bermuda, officials say
Ranking
- College football Week 12 expert picks for every Top 25 game include SEC showdowns
- Does your dog have arthritis? A lot of them do. But treatment can be tricky
- ‘Heretic’ and Hugh Grant debut with $11 million, but ‘Venom: The Last Dance’ tops box office again
- 'The Penguin' spoilers! Colin Farrell spills on that 'dark' finale episode
- Tropical Storm Sara threatens to bring flash floods and mudslides to Central America
- Quincy Jones laid to rest at private family funeral in Los Angeles
- How Jersey Shore's Sammi Sweetheart Giancola's Fiancé Justin May Supports Her on IVF Journey
- ‘Heretic’ and Hugh Grant debut with $11 million, but ‘Venom: The Last Dance’ tops box office again
Recommendation
-
'Serial swatter': 18-year-old pleads guilty to making nearly 400 bomb threats, mass shooting calls
-
One person is dead after a shooting at Tuskegee University
-
Georgia's humbling loss to Mississippi leads college football winners and losers for Week 11
-
World leaders aim to shape Earth's future at COP29 climate change summit
-
Kid Rock tells fellow Trump supporters 'most of our left-leaning friends are good people'
-
Why Amanda Seyfried Traded Living in Hollywood for Life on a Farm in Upstate New York
-
A crowd of strangers brought 613 cakes and then set out to eat them
-
Will Trump curb transgender rights? After election, community prepares for worst