Snowy mountain passes forecasted this weekend

The National Weather Service in Missoula is forecasting heavy mountain pass snow Friday night, Nov. 21, and Saturday, with windy conditions and more heavy mountain pass snow on Sunday.

Valley locations can expect to see mixed precipitation and wind through Sunday, with light amounts of snow on Sunday.

NWS has high confidence heavy mountain snows will begin between 9 p.m. and midnight Friday, with moderate to heavy snow and gusty winds at times Saturday morning.

Several mountain passes could see 6 to 10 inches of snow, including Lolo, Lost Trail, Lookout and Marias. Lesser amounts of 2 to 4 inches are expected over Whitebird Grade, Gilmore Summit, MacDonald and Homestake passes.

Even as temperatures rise above freezing, many valleys still could see light freezing rain Friday night, but confidence is low for exactly how much and where.