A blast of winter weather blew through central Montana Tuesday morning, and more is forecast for the next few days.

Tuesday's mid-surface cold front dropped temperatures 20 degrees in two hours, with the wind chill pushing temperatures another 10 degrees lower, making it feel like 25 degrees outside at 1 p.m., according to information from the National Weather Service.

The cold front also brought a mixture of snow, rain and graupel, a blend of snow/rain that looks like little ball bearings.

The brief storm also blew hard enough to temporarily postpone proceedings in a court case in Boulder, after it became difficult to hear testimony over the howling winds.

By mid afternoon Tuesday, the storm had passed and the sun was shining. But Connie Thomson, a meteorologist with the Great Falls NWS, warns that another few days of wild weather are on the horizon.

"There's a strong Pacific storm system over Oregon and Idaho, and will move across the Rocky Mountains overnight," Thomson said on Tuesday. "As that moves in, moisture will wrap around it and we'll see a couple days of widespread precipitation on Wednesday and Thursday, with some snow probably mixed in with the rain.

"We'll probably see snow levels down to close to 4,000 feet overnight."

A winter weather advisory remains in effect until 6 p.m. today for elevations above 5,000 feet in central and southern Lewis and Clark and Jefferson counties.

Thomson said while it may seem like it's rained for the past 40 days and nights, it's only been about two weeks that the Helena area has had some precipitation every day.

"You haven't had a completely dry day yet in June," she added. "But that's not unexpected this time of year."

In fact, it was in June 1908 that heavy rains in Montana caused extensive flooding statewide, collapsing bridges and turning streets into rivers.

The Helena Independent newspaper reported five deaths from the flooding in the first week of June. By June 6, the city was isolated, after rains struck down telephone and telegraph connections and roads washed out. The railroad bridge across the Missouri at Townsend was torn from its foundation, as were trestles between Helena and Great Falls.

A breach of the Hale Reservoir dam sent waters cascading down Lump Gulch, the newspaper reported, and overflows from the undersized Davis Street water flume "converted the street into a veritable river. Cave-ins are reported in every part of the city."

The city water plant also was reported to be partially underwater, threatening the city with a "water famine," the paper stated.

City Public Works Director John Rundquist said Helena is much better prepared now, and that concerns during the Memorial Day weekend over water shortages were short-lived.

"We had some problems with pretty low reserves in town, which is why we did ask people to conserve water. Contributing to the problem was our Missouri River Treatment Plant was undergoing some construction (expansion), so we were on the ragged edge of supplying the town with water for a short time," he said. "But we've got good production going now, and the Missouri River plant is able to pump some water now too."

Paul Spengler, emergency services coordinator for Lewis and Clark County, said he hasn't had any reports of major flooding from the combination of rains and melting snowpack. But he cautions that this is the wettest time of year and hopes the public will remain prepared for any problems.

"My message is people shouldn't wait for the water to lap at their door to buy flood insurance, since it takes 30 days for it to take effect," Spengler said. "And if they think they might need sand bags, they should get them now."

Thomson noted that there is a brighter ending to the week, with clear skies by Friday and temperatures reaching into the 70s for the Father's Day weekend.

"Next week, it looks like we'll continue with highs in the 70s and just a little unsettled weather creating light afternoon and evening storms," Thomson said. "... I don't think we're anywhere near close to what happened 100 years ago. That was a lot of precipitation in a very short time. Here, we're getting precipitation that's slow and steady, just what it's supposed to do this time of year."

Reporter Eve Byron: 447-4076 or eve.byron@helenair.com