BILLINGS — We've been talking about it over the last few days and here it comes. A long stretch of warm and dry weather begins and will take us through next week and potentially beyond. Friday will stay warm and breezy with daytime highs in the upper 70s to low 80s.
A weak Canadian cold front sweeps through Friday night and could bring a low chance of light showers in far east MT Saturday morning, but the main impact will just be a slightly cooler Saturday with highs in the upper 60s to low 70s accompanied by light winds from the northeast.
A strong high pressure ridge in the West takes over Sunday through Thursday, driving temperatures well above average into the low 80s on Monday, which is shaping up to be the warmest day of the stretch. Some locations could flirt with record warmth.
A weak mid-week cold front brings a brief, modest dip in temperatures on Tuesday, but will it remain above normal for this time of the year. Early October highs are typically in the mid-to-upper 60s.
With the warmer temperatures and dry air dominating, fire danger is on the rise again, especially for the southern mountains, foothills, and any spots that missed out on the significant rainfall that occurred in the latter part of September. Winds will be occasionally breezy as a few weak fronts pass through, so this will definitely be something to keep an eye on.
So, when is the region's next chance of rain? Activity remains high across the Pacific tropics and some of that moisture could be steered toward the Continental U.S. by next weekend, but confidence remains very low for now.
Miller Robson
Q2 Morning Meteorologist
miller.robson@ktvq.com
