Slush & Flooding Will Make Montana Weekend Sloppy

If you've been feeling miserable because of our short, but intense bout of winter this month, that will all change this weekend.

But the sloppy, and somewhat hazardous weekend ahead won't do much to lift your spirits. And you may have to switch quickly from your snow boots to your muck boots to get through.

That's because National Weather Service forecasters are expecting a major warmup this weekend that will bring rain, instead of snow, and will likely create some localized flood problems.

RELATED: Snow a Pain, But Water Supply Looks Great

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How fast will Montana warm up?

Really fast. Temperatures at week's end will be back in the 40s. And Saturday and Sunday, mid to upper 40s will be common, with some places like Hamilton that could even hit 50 degrees.

Forecasters say an atmospheric river could bring up to a quarter inch of steady rain Saturday night and Sunday, with more rain early next week. There's as much as a 70% chance of an inch of rain falling along the Montana-Idaho border.

How much snow is there to melt?

A lot. NWS posted some of the totals from the storm earlier this week, which don't include last week's totals:

50 inches 14 miles WNW of Seeley Lake
42" in the Mission Mountains
2 feet fell at Lolo Pass, near Georgetown Lake, and in the northern Clearwater Mountains of Idaho.
19.6" in eastern Pablo
17" Lost Trail Pass
16.6" North of Creston
15" Potomac
13.7" Seeley Lake
11.1" Missoula Int. Airport, but 13" in the South Hills
8.6" Glacier Park Int. Airport
3" Salmon, ID

Snow levels will rise to 5,000 or even 6,000 feet, also adding to the sudden runoff, and that's expected to create localized flooding, especially on roads and fields.

And with freezing expected each evening, icy conditions could plague drivers overnight and in the early morning hours.

How long will the Montana warmup last?

Long-range forecasts suggest temperatures won't fall below 40, and may be closer to 50 degrees all the way through March 2nd.

Conditions could cool in early March. But our snowpack likely gets much more help from the

La Niña ocean current.The Climate Prediction Center says there's a 66% chance the weak La Niña will switch to "neutral" sometime between March and May, with a 41% chance it could even change as early as April. That could "turn off" the pattern which has sent abundant moisture into the Northwest the past couple of months.