BILLINGS — An area of low pressure over the Great Basin has been moving at pedestrian speed for most of the week, and we've only been on the outer reaches of its cloud cover. As a result, we've had a lot of heat and gusty wind in eastern Montana and Wyoming with limited shower and thunderstorm activity. Tonight will be mild with decreasing clouds, with lows in the 50s and lower 60s.
Friday will be similar to Thursday, but a few degrees hotter for most areas. Isolated rain showers and thunderstorms will pop up in the afternoon and evening, but most (if not all) of them will not affect Billings. Friday will be the end to the unseasonable May heat, though, as the slow-moving low pressure over the Great Basin finally makes its move toward the northern and central Rockies.
Both Saturday and Sunday we can expect many more clouds with better chances for rain showers and thunderstorms. Highs will only reach the 70s on Saturday, and will likely be stuck in the 60s on Sunday. We will return to the seasonable lower 70s next Monday and Tuesday with a few rain showers. Wednesday will be drier and warmer, and another chance for showers will arrive by next Thursday.
