Northwest Montana

Issued: 02/09/2026 5:25 p.m. MST

Tonight...Considerable cloudiness with areas of fog and low clouds developing in the valleys. Isolated rain and snow showers in the evening. Snow level near 2500 to 3000 feet. Lows in the mid 20s to lower 30s with mid 20s around 5000 feet. Light wind except ridge top winds west 10 to 20 mph.

Tuesday…Areas of fog and low clouds in the valleys through noon otherwise variable cloudiness and a little cooler. Highs in the upper 30s to mid 40s with mid 30s around 5000 feet. Light wind except ridge top winds northeast 5 to 15 mph.

Tuesday night…Partly cloudy with areas of freezing fog and low clouds developing in the valleys. Colder with lows in the mid teens to mid 20s with lower 20s around 5000 feet. Light wind except ridge top winds north 5 to 10 mph.

Wednesday...Areas of freezing fog and low clouds through noon otherwise partly cloudy. Highs in the upper 30s to mid 40s with mid 30s around 5000 feet. Light northeast wind.

Extended Outlook(Thursday through Monday):

Thursday...Dry with areas of night and morning freezing fog and low clouds in the valleys. Lows in the upper teens to mid 20s with mid 20s around 5000 feet. Highs in the upper 30s to mid 40s with lower 30s around 5000 feet.

Friday...Increasing clouds with a chance of valley rain and snow and mountain snow by late afternoon. Lows in the 20s with mid 20s around 5000 feet. Highs in the upper 30s to mid 40s with lower 30s around 5000 feet.

Saturday through Monday...A chance of snow showers. Lows in the 20s with near 20 around 5000 feet. Highs in the 30s to near 40 with upper 20s around 5000 feet.

In-Depth Weather Discussion for Northwest Montana/North Idaho/Northern Rockies 

Issued 02/09/2026 6:00 p.m. MST / 5:00 p.m. PST

SHORT TERM (MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY):

     Weak shortwave will continue to move out of the area Monday evening with a broad, colder upper level trough taking up residence across much of Western North America. Here in the Northern Rockies we will between the split Polar Jet with one jet axis aligned across Central BC and AB and the southern branch diving south into California. Unfortunately that means our region will remain void of any vertical motion or lift to generate precipitation with the sun angle still too low at this time of year for surface heating to generate convection so our forecast will remain dry for the next several days. Will see temperatures at night finally begin to drop closer to seasonal averages or in the upper teens to mid 20s once we clear out some of the lower level clouds of Monday but our afternoon highs will continue to run above seasonal averages with atmospheric heights and thickness values still running a touch higher than normal for this time of year. With a relatively stable airmass in place will likely see at least areas of freezing fog and low clouds develop overnight and last through late morning in the valleys but with the colder air aloft the low clouds will likely break up during the afternoon hours. We are increasing daylight by over 3 minutes a day now and the sun angle continues to rapidly climb in the sky so these factors, along with the lack of snow cover will prevent stratus from remaining locked in place across valleys.             

LONG TERM (WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY): 

     Split flow will remain across the region through the end of the work week before perhaps a more consolidated system begins to approach the Washington coastline by Friday. My gut feeling however is that this system will also tend to split as it pushes closer to our region with a more consolidated pattern likely holding off until sometime the following week (week of February 15th). The system moving in by Friday afternoon does look to have enough consolidation and upper level jet support to bring at least a good chance of snow across our region this upcoming holiday weekend although amounts do not currently look very impressive but at this point any snowfall is welcome. Without any strong lift, convergence or dynamics any snow that does fall during the daylight hours will most likely not stick below 3500 feet given how unseasonably warm it has been and coupled with the higher February sun angle will result in quick melting of any snow that does fall in the lower elevations. Higher elevations will see a better chance for snow to accumulate but early estimates this far out would suggest generally less than a foot over a 4 day period so nothing to really get excited about. The PNA pattern looks to remain in a largely negative phase for the next few weeks with the aid of the MJO now in Phase Space 2 and forecasted to slowly move into Phase Space 3 (Indian Ocean) which corresponds to cooler and wetter conditions for our region. In addition CPC's 6-10 and 8-14 day outlooks show temperatures leaning below average and precipitation leaning above average which are both good signals for at least some snowfall but again, at this time, no big storms are anticipated.