BILLINGS — If you didn't know you were in Montana or Wyoming on this Christmas Day, you would have thought you were somewhere much further south with all the sunshine and above average warmth we had. Several record highs were tied and broken in southern Montana and northern Wyoming on Thursday, but that won't be the trend going forward.
Friday will still be much milder than it should be for the day after Christmas in our region, but it won't be quite to the level of Thursday. The wind will get stronger in our normally windier areas, but that will also expand as a Pacific cold front approaches. Highs will stay over 20 degrees above average, but it will be gusty with isolated PM rain showers.
Our well-above-average temperature streak will come to an abrupt halt on Saturday as a second cold front sweeps over the region from the north. It will bring much colder air and we can expect light snow and more gusty wind. Beware of some roads and sidewalks, as there will be a chance for wet surfaces to freeze rapidly Saturday morning and afternoon.
Sunday will definitely feel like a late December and winter day, with much colder morning lows in the 0s and 10s, and cooler than average highs in the 20s and 30s. We can expect increasing clouds on Monday, more breezes and a warming trend as a ridge builds over us. We'll have more gusty wind as we end 2025 and begin 2026 later next week. Be safe!
