Kalispell sets daily record low

Flathead Valley residents woke up to record-cold temperatures Tuesday morning as the thermometer dipped below zero for the first time this fall.

Kalispell bottomed out at minus 2, setting a new record low for Oct. 29. The previous record low for the date was 5 degrees set in 1971. Tuesday also marked the earliest subzero low on record for Kalispell.

A slight breeze lowered wind-chill values to about minus 10 at 5 a.m. Tuesday.

The arctic blast came on the tails of heavy snowfall on Monday. The Bigfork area picked up about 7.5 inches of snow Monday, with Hungry Horse tallying about 5.5 inches. About 3 inches accumulated in Kalispell, and 4 inches was reported in Columbia Falls.

Temperatures are expected to moderate by Wednesday, with lows in the single digits and teens.

The National Weather Service in Missoula warned that colder than normal temperatures will persist in the long-range forecast, with the possibility of another weather system dropping out of Canada by the end of the weekend.