Low temperatures to stay in Flathead throughout week

The Daily Inter Lake

A cold front of arctic air blew through Northwest Montana on Monday, on the heels of a Saturday night snow storm that dumped between six and 10 inches of snow across the Flathead Valley.

Temperatures across western Montana and northern Idaho plummeted to their coldest of the season, according to the National Weather Service.

In Kalispell, temperatures Monday morning dropped to 12 degrees below zero with the wind chill pushing it to minus 14. Essex hit minus 15 degrees while Libby and Ronan hit minus 17 degrees. Thermometers dipped below minus 13 in Hungry Horse and minus 28 in Olney.

The high in Kalispell today is expected to be 12 degrees, with a low temperature tonight of 1 below zero. Wednesday's temperatures are expected to range from 14 degrees to minus 2, followed by a gradual warming trend toward the end of the week. The high Friday is expected to be 25 degrees with a low of 13 degrees.

Montana Department of Transportation road crews on Sunday predicted 8 to 10 inches of snow on Montana 40 between U.S. 93 and U.S. 2; blowing and drifting snow on U.S. 2 between Marion and Coram; and snowpack on U.S. 93 between Elmo and Stryker.

Subzero temperatures combined with high winds led Whitefish Mountain Resort to keep the summit of the ski area closed Sunday morning; only the mountain's lower lifts were open. Wind chills Sunday reached minus 30 degrees at the summit.

Chair Two, however, opened about 1:30 p.m., said Whitefish Mountain Resort public relations manager Donnie Clapp.

"Our main concern was the wind's physical effects on the chair lifts," said Clapp, noting that winds near the summit were gusting up to 40 mph. "We don't often have winds of that magnitude."

By Monday, all the normally operating lifts were running as temperatures climbed into the single digits.

"There was no wind and the sun was out and shining brightly," Clapp said Monday evening.