BILLINGS — Tuesday will be another gorgeous fall day with daytime highs ranging from the mid-60s to low 70s under mainly sunny skies.
A weak, dry cold front is forecast to pass through Tuesday night, bringing a chilly start to Wednesday, with morning lows hovering around the mid-30s. Expect more sunshine during the day, with afternoon highs back in the mid-60s to low 70s.
Thursday aims to be the warmest day this week for much of the region, with highs in the low to mid-70s.
Winds are expected to increase late Thursday into Friday ahead of the next cold front with southwesterly gusts between 30 and 50 mph over the Bighorn Mountains, spilling into southern/eastern Sheridan County, WY. 40+ mph gusts will be possible across the entire region late Friday into early Saturday.
High pressure will keep mainly dry conditions in place through Thursday, but weak disturbances could bring a chance of daily light showers across the Absarokas and Beartooths. By Friday afternoon, an upper-level low merging with a Canadian trough will push a cold front through the region, bringing cooler temperatures and widespread precipitation. Expect all rain for the plains with this system, but winter weather returns to the high country. Snow levels around 10,000 feet on Friday will fall to near 5,000 feet by Saturday. The Absarokas and Beartooths have a 50-50 shot at 6 inches or more of snow, while the Bighorns vie for up to 6 inches.
In terms of rainfall, south-central MT has a 50% to 80% chance of getting a half inch, while up to a quarter of an inch is possible elsewhere except in the eastern side of the region where little accumulation is expected for now. There may even be a thunderstorm or two, but that chance is very low at the moment.
As the system exits, a calmer zonal flow will bring drier conditions, breezy mountain winds, and cool daytime highs in the 50s Saturday through early next week.
Miller Robson
Q2 Morning Meteorologist
miller.robson@ktvq.com
