BILLINGS- It was record-tying cold temperatures in the Billings area Monday morning, but now the sun has come out, the skies are clear and the temperatures are beginning to warm up.
At 2 p.m. Monday, Billings has warmed all the way up to 8 degrees above zero, which is a far cry from the 19 below zero we started out with Monday morning.
Our reported low temperatures this morning were in the teens 20s and 30s below zero, and a few places highlighted with a blue star had brand-new record low temperatures.
The current temps around the state have warmed up above zero east of the divide, although a few places like Havre, Great Falls, Helena, Bozeman and Dillon are still reporting subzero temps.
Our wind chills continue to remain into the teens below zero east of the divide.
Havre and Great Falls are into the -20s for wind chills but it’s not nearly as cold as it was Monday morning when the wind chill factors were in the 40 below zero range.
We still have a Winter Weather Advisory for the northeast corner the state for blowing snow and a Wind Chill Advisory in north-central Montana for more 30 below zero wind chills.
The Doppler radar and satellite imagery remains pretty quiet right now. All we have is a little light snow in Richland County by Sidney and a few cloudy skies rolling in from the southwest.
Our high-resolution forecast model does show high pressure and cold air will stick around for the rest of Monday, and then eventually by Tuesday afternoon the cold air will drain out of the state and our temperatures will begin the warm.
On Wednesday, a new batch of warm, moist air will move in with spotty snow showers in the afternoon for Yellowstone County and the rest of the west.
BILLINGS FORECAST
TONIGHT: Mostly clear and cold. Southwest winds 10 to 20 mph. Low. -7 degrees.
TUESDAY: Sunny and not as cold. Southwest winds 5 to 15 mph. High 22 degrees.
WEDNESDAY: Mostly cloudy and cool with a 20 percent chance of snow. High 19 degrees.
