Spot Forecast
Issued by NWS Great Falls, MT
Issued by NWS Great Falls, MT
990 FNUS75 KTFX 010945 FWSTFX Spot Forecast for Elk Smith Unit 13 Hand Piles-Goguen...USFS National Weather Service Great Falls MT 345 AM MDT Wed May 1 2024 Forecast is based on ignition time of 0800 MDT on May 01. If conditions become unrepresentative...contact the National Weather Service. .DISCUSSION... An upper level low pressure system moving east across southern Alberta will maintain cold westerly flow across the region today, shifting to northwesterly tonight through Thursday. Snow showers will develop this afternoon and become more numerous tonight with periods of steady snow expected late tonight through Thursday. An isolated weak thunderstorm is also possible this afternoon. Little or no snow accumulation is expected through this evening with total snow accumulation on Thursday of 1 to 3 inches possible. This area look to be quite sheltered from the gusty westerly winds that are expected in more exposed areas today but a few afternoon gusts may reach lower in the drainage with breezy northwest to northerly winds tonight through Thursday more likely to affect the area. .REST OF TODAY... Sky/weather.........Mostly cloudy (70-80 percent). Chance of snow showers early in the morning, then snow showers likely with a slight chance of a thunderstorm in the afternoon. Little or no snow accumulation. CWR.................5 percent. LAL.................2. Max temperature.....40-45. Min humidity........39-44 percent. Wind (20 ft)........ Slope/valley.......West winds 8 to 14 mph with gusts to around 25 mph. Gusty and erratic winds expected near showers in the afternoon. Mixing height.......7500 ft AGL. Transport winds.....West 20 to 30 mph. Haines Index........3 or very low potential for large plume dominated fire growth. .TONIGHT... Sky/weather.........Cloudy (85-95 percent). Snow showers likely with snow accumulation up to one inch. CWR.................25 percent. LAL.................1. Min temperature.....27-32. Max humidity........Above 80 percent. Wind (20 ft)........ Slope/valley.......Northwest winds 10 to 15 with gusts to 25 mph. Mixing height.......500 ft AGL. Transport winds.....West around 25 mph. .THURSDAY... Sky/weather.........Cloudy (90-100 percent). Periods of snow through the day with accumulation up to 2 inches. CWR.................85 percent. LAL.................1. Max temperature.....37-42. Min humidity........62-67 percent. Wind (20 ft)........ Slope/valley.......Northwest winds 10 to 15 mph with gusts up to 20 mph shifting to the north in the afternoon. Mixing height.......3500 ft AGL. Transport winds.....Northwest 15 to 20 mph. Haines Index........2 or very low potential for large plume dominated fire growth. $$ Forecaster...Hoenisch Requested by...Brian Peterson Type of request...PRESCRIBED .TAG 2412842.0/TFX .DELDT 05/01/24 .FormatterVersion 2.0.0 .EMAIL brian.peterson3@usda.gov