Billings, Montana | Continuous News and Weather

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Q2 Weather: NOAA forecasts a slightly wetter August for Billings

This past July was the 15th driest July in the past 80 years. Billings only recorded .34-hundredths of an inch of rain during the month. The driest year for July was 2003. That's when we only recorded a trace amount of rain for the month. That's right, the entire month. It was probably only one sprinkle. No high temperature records were broken or tied last month. Even so, the average high temperature for the month was 88.6 degrees, or 1.8 degrees above average. It was the 29th warmest July in 80 years. Now that July is in the books, it's time to look ahead to August. NOAA has come out with their one-month and three-month long range outlooks. For our purposes here, we will show you what The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, believes will happen in the next 30 days during the month of August. The chart below shows the precipitation outlook for August 2014. Clearly NOAA thinks that the monsoon moisture will continue to be a player in our forecasts this month. The "A" means above average chances for rain for the area highlighted in green. The "EC" means equal chances, or not much deviation from average. The "B" along the Gulf of Mexico indicates below average precipitation. The next chart below shows NOAA temperature forecast for August. Here again the "A" mean above average temperatures for the areas highlighted in brown to tan. The "B" means below average temperatures for the areas highlighted in blue. The "EC" mean equal chances the temps will stay near normal. According to this, Billings should have near normal temperatures while eastern Montana could be slightly below normal. The average high temperature for Billings in August is 85.7 degrees. BILLINGS FORECAST: Tonight: Partly cloudy dry and mild. Northeast winds 5 - 10 mph. Low 60. Saturday: Mostly sunny with a 20% chance of showers or thunderstorms in the afternoon. South winds 5 - 10 mph. High 93. Sunday: Mostly sunny with a 20% chance of showers and thunderstorms. West winds 5 - 10 mph. High 92.