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000
FXUS65 KMSO 190951
AFDMSO

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Missoula MT
351 AM MDT Thu Apr 19 2018

.DISCUSSION...The nice spring days will continue for most across
the Northern Rockies today and Friday, with afternoon highs at, or
slightly above normal for this time of the year. There will be a
slight chance for scattered light showers over Lemhi and southern
Idaho counties today, otherwise, expect partly cloudy skies.
Friday will be warmer, with a chance for some locations in
northwest Montana to hit 60 degrees for the first time in 2018.

A fairly strong cold front is still expected to move through the
region during the day on Saturday. Westerly winds will accompany
the front, with gusts up to 45 mph in the afternoon across much of
western Montana. Areas of northwest Montana and along the
Continental Divide will likely experience the higher wind gusts.
Area lakes, especially Flathead Lake, will become quite choppy as
the front progresses across the area. Light rain will also be
present for most of the day for locations north of Highway 2 in
northwest Montana. The rest of western Montana will be mostly
cloudy, with the occasional light shower.

Sunday brings a cooler but drier day area wide. Forecast models
are trending more aggressive with a wave of energy moving through
central Idaho and southwest Montana Sunday night into Monday.
Chances of precipitation have been increased for these areas quite
a bit, while areas across northwest Montana will likely remain
dry.

The overall pattern for next week continues to show a warming
trend. The GFS models has thrown a bit less certainty into this
forecast as it is beginning to show an upper level trough digging
into the northern Rockies region by Wednesday. At this time, it
appears to be an outlier, with most other model guidance showing
warmer and drier zonal (westerly) flow over the region. Relatively
few changes were made to the forecast for the time being.

&&

.AVIATION...Fair flying conditions are expected across the
Northern Rockies today. Areas across Lemhi and southern Idaho
counties could experience terrain obscurations due to scattered
light showers, otherwise partly cloudy skies above the terrain is
expected across the region.


&&

.MSO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MT...None.
ID...None.
&&

$$