Sun Road now in winter status

Glacier National Park announced Friday  the Going-to-the-Sun Road is now in winter status. That means people can travel by foot up the road at their own risk, but no bicycles are allowed over-the-snow. Currently much of the road at low elevations is snow-free, but expect ice and snow in higher terrain and no guardrails on the road in some places.

The road is currently closed to motor vehicles at Avalanche Creek on the west side and Jackson Glacier Overlook on the east side, though the Jackson Glacier Overlook opening looks to be tenuous at best. 

The National Weather Service is calling for snow in higher elevations of the park this weekend, with 4 to 10 inches at Logan Pass, and rain/snow mix and lower elevations, though mostly rain starting Saturday through the weekend. 

For the state A playoff games in Columbia Falls, we can expect showers and breezy conditions, the Weather Service is saying. 

In winter, the Sun Road on the west side closes at Lake McDonald Lodge and the east side at the foot of St. Mary Lake. The west side closure to the lodge is typically mid-December. The road can close to St. Mary at any time, but typically it's later in November. Snows this weekend could close it to Rising Sun easily.

This winter could be colder and snowier than average, the Weather Service said in a briefing last week. The Pacific Ocean is in a La Nina current, which typically means colder and wetter winters for much of Northwest Montana through February, though more snow falls in the mountains and not in the valleys due to downslope winds. 

Any snow would be welcome, as the region is in a multi-year drought.