Heavy snowfall and blizzard conditions will target Northwest Montana on Tuesday as frigid air clashes with a plume of Pacific moisture.

A winter storm warning is in place for the Flathead and Mission valleys through Wednesday. Snow accumulations of 4 to 8 inches are possible for Kalispell, with 12 to 18 inches farther south around Flathead Lake and Polson. Arlee could get walloped with 2 feet of snow.

Visibility could drop to less than a quarter mile at times as winds and snow combine for whiteout conditions, making travel treacherous. Heavy drifting snow should be expected on U.S. 93 and Montana 35 around Flathead Lake, on Montana 28 between Elmo and Hot Springs, and on U.S. 2 at Happy's Inn.

Drifting snow in the Flathead Valley is likely Tuesday night as wind chills dip to 15 below zero. Wind chills will plummet to minus 34 in the Glacier National Park region where the high temperature Tuesday is zero.

The snow will come in two waves. The first hits the area Tuesday morning. After a lull, a second punch of winter weather arrives Tuesday night.

"This setup with the cold front passing to the south Tuesday morning in north-central Idaho, and a plethora of moisture moving overhead, is a good maptype for heavy snow," the National Weather Service warned in its forecast Monday.

Places like Lolo Pass on the Montana and Idaho border could see more than 2 feet of snow. Missoula is forecast to get over a foot.

The avalanche danger on Monday was rated as considerable across Northwest Montana's mountain ranges in advance of the storm.

Another round of snow moves into the area Thursday and Friday as low temperatures hang in the single digits.