BILLINGS- The big sky is full of clouds on this Friday in Billings. In fact, it’s overcast, and the current temperature at 2 p.m. is 62 degrees with light rain.
Out in the rest of the state, it’s cold, with temps only to the 40s and 50s in western Montana. It isn’t until you get to Billings, where we see 60s and 70s.
In our thunderstorm outlook for Friday, we see isolated thunderstorms across western Montana, but the chance of severity increases the farther southeast you go. In fact, we have an enhanced risk of severe thunderstorms in Powder River and Carter counties.
There we could see heavy rain, large hail and damaging winds. Oh yes, and there is this: we have a Winter Weather Advisory for the Beartooth mountains from 6 p.m. until 6 a.m. Saturday. We could see four to eight inches of snow.
Right now, the Doppler radar shows there is snow falling in the highest elevations with light rain showers continuing across the rest of south-central Montana on the plains.
Our forecast model shows we could see heavier rain moving to the Billings area around 5:30 p.m. with heavy showers and thunderstorms at Fort Smith approaching Lame Deer.
By 6 p.m., those storms will be over at Lame Deer and in Big Horn and Rosebud counties. Billings will see scattered light rain showers into the morning hours.
By the time Sunday gets here, most of the moisture will have gone and sunny sky should return as temperatures slowly begin to warm.
Our temperatures will drop from the 60s Friday afternoon down into the 40s by Saturday morning and back up to about 54 degrees by early Saturday afternoon.
BILLINGS FORECAST
TONIGHT: Mostly cloudy with a 50 percent chance for showers and thunderstorms this evening then a chance of rain overnight. Northwest winds 10 to 20 mph. Low 46 degrees.
SATURDAY: Mostly cloudy with a 60 percent chance of rain showers in the morning then rain showers likely in the afternoon. Northwest winds 5 to 15 mph. High 59 degrees.
SUNDAY: Mostly sunny and getting a little warmer. West winds 5 to 15 mph. High 69 degrees.
