BILLINGS — Thursday will be warm to hot, sunny to hazy, and dry, although a fast-moving disturbance will bring a very low chance for a shower over the mountains during the evening. Daytime highs will generally be in the upper 80s to low 90s through the weekend.
A trough moving into the Northwest will push weak energy across the area, while southwest flow will bring a rise in atmospheric moisture on Saturday, bringing a low-to-moderate chance for afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms for the weekend. There's still some question about how widespread these storms will actually be since we're lacking a strong triggering mechanism. That said, atmospheric moisture levels are forecast to be 150% to 200% of normal, so any storm that develops will have plenty of juice to work with.
Another round of showers and storms is on tap for Sunday as a cold front swings across northern Montana. As the front pushes through, expect winds to kick up, followed by much drier air rolling in behind it. The combination of gusty winds of 20–35 mph and drier air could bring fire weather concerns.
Heading into early next week, weak high pressure will help pull a bit of monsoonal moisture north. This will keep a slight chance of afternoon showers and a few pop-up thunderstorms in the forecast on Monday, mainly confined to the higher terrain along the MT/WY border. By Tuesday, upper-level winds from the southwest will usher more monsoonal moisture back into the region, keeping a slight chance of daily afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms going well into next week.
Temperatures will drop slightly, mainly into the 80s on Monday and Tuesday.
Miller Robson
Q2 Morning Meteorologist
miller.robson@ktvq.com
