La Niña Impacts Winding Down in Montana

It's too early for surety, but there are new indications this week that the current La Niña conditions in the Pacific Ocean are fading, with the return of the warmer El Niño influence showing up as soon as this spring.

That's actually right on track with the forecasts last fall that suggested the weak La Niña would run its course by late winter. And it's been a bit of a bust, not producing the colder, wetter conditions that can be a boost to the Pacific Northwest snowpack. Some forecasters say we could even end up with a "neutral" La Niña year, where it has little impact at all.

     Some of the forecasts suggest a strong El Niño next summer and fall, which could create warm, dry weather patterns.

READ MORE: Montana Snowpack Isn't the Strongest

For now, it's dry and mild

The bigger concern right now is the high-pressure locking over the Northern Rockies, which look to keep us mild and dry well into next week, with a chance for valley inversions.

UPDATE: Killer search continues in Great Falls

Cascade County Sheriff Jesse Slaughter is asking Great Falls residents to check their doorstep cameras for possible clues to help track down the suspect wanted for the county's latest murder.

The body of 25-year-old Terrill Johnson was found on Friday in the 1700 block of 22nd Avenue South. Initially, it was just a "suspicious death" case, but it is now being treated as a homicide.

Slaughter says Johnson was known to frequent bars downtown, and asked earlier for the owners of those clubs to contact detectives. This afternoon, he expanded that call, asking residents in the area of 18th Street South to 5th Street South to check their cameras to see if they recorded anyone suspicious walking in the area. Specifically, investigators are looking at the morning of January 9th, between 5:55 am and 7:00 am.

Sheriff Slaughter says that's Johnson's car and was seen around the area last week. We have that picture on our websites.

Remembering a teacher killed in that holiday wreck near Lincoln

The Great Falls community is coming together to remember a beloved teacher who was killed in a multi-car crash near Lincoln during the holidays. Nick Northern has details.

More fatal wrecks on Montana roads

Montana Highway Patrol said it was a 31-year-old from Victor who was killed when her car went off the road and struck a tree in the Bitterroot Valley early Sunday morning.

Troopers say speed is suspected as the cause of the crash, with the driver losing control of her car, as it went off the right side of the road, smashing into a tree, and overturning. She died later at the hospital in Hamilton.

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A couple of hours after that, a 35-year-old Arlee man was killed when his Honda Civic collided head-on with a Ford pickup coming from the opposite direction.

MHP troopers say the victim was driving north in the southbound lanes near Ravalli when he slammed into the truck, dying at the scene of the crash. A 35-year old woman from St. Ignatius, who was driving the pickup, survived but was hospitalized for her injuries.

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And a terrible crash in Broadus Saturday night led to a 3-hour effort by emergency responders after a pile-up involving a pickup and a semi.

The Broadus Volunteer Fire Department posted on Facebook that it appeared the pickup had crossed over the centerline, with the collision creating such a huge impact that they had to cut the wreckage apart to reach the drivers. It took two hours just to free the pickup driver, who, along with the truck driver, was treated for serious injuries.

And there was a second crash, when an oncoming vehicle plowed into the scene, destroying a wrecker.