BILLINGS — Fog will impact portions of the region Friday morning and could linger into early afternoon. Over the plains of far eastern Montana, southeast winds will also increase with peak gusts between the teens and 30 mph. Daytime highs will range from the mid-40s to mid-50s. Lows Friday night into Saturday morning will be a few degrees warmer, but locally dense fog is forecast once again to reduce visibility across portions of the region.
The forecast for Saturday has shifted slightly as a more robust shortwave disturbance moves through ahead of a bigger system Sunday into Monday. There is now a slight chance of light precipitation in much of south-central Montana, with a few locations possibly seeing some moderate rainfall along with mountain snow. A deep area of low pressure will move through the region Sunday into Monday, bringing wind, lower elevation rain, and mountain snow. Southeastern Montana and north-central/eastern Wyoming have a 50-70% chance of seeing a half-inch or more of rainfall. Chances for mountain snow initially begin above 9,000 feet before snow levels drop near 7,000 feet on Monday, with the Bighorn Mountains favoring a 50-80% chance of 6+ inches of high-elevation snow.
A cold front pushing through late Sunday into Monday will bring peak wind gusts generally between 20-40 mph, with higher hills in Sheridan County, Wyoming, and far eastern Montana potentially seeing gusts near 50 mph before winds taper off Monday night.
Tuesday through Thursday, conditions look to turn mostly dry across the area with high temperatures staying in the 40s and 50s. However, isolated precipitation cannot be entirely ruled out at times, mainly remaining confined to the higher mountain terrain.
Miller Robson
Q2 Morning Meteorologist
miller.robson@ktvq.com
