BILLINGS — It is warm again on Monday, with the foothills west of Billings reaching highs in the 70s; Central areas (including Billings) warm to the 80s; and eastern Montana will again be close to records with highs reaching the lower 90s.
Through Monday night, a low will move eastward pushing our warm weekend air away. This will lead to wind gusts of 35 to 45 mph in areas like Livingston, Big Timber, and Harlowton. Expect generally dry weather across most of the area.
The warm conditions today will contribute to melting snow in the mountains, resulting in faster and higher stream flows. Late this afternoon, there will be an increase in moisture, leading to isolated showers and thunderstorms over the western mountains, potentially moving northeast into lower elevations.
Thunderstorms are not expected to be severe, though wind gusts up to 50 mph are possible. This evening, a cold front will bring cooler air, with winds likely gusting to 30 mph for a few hours. Some locations could experience gusts of 40 to 50 mph.
Scattered showers are likely across south-central Montana, especially west of Billings. Low temperatures will range from the 40s in the west to the 50s in southeast MT.
There is still uncertainty regarding the track of the next weather system, which will greatly affect precipitation amounts through Thursday. Snow levels are expected to drop to 7000 feet, with an 80% chance of at least a foot of snow on the highest mountain peaks.
Since the Absaroka/Beartooth mountains have a 20% chance of exceeding 2 feet of snow, Winter Storm Watches will be in effect starting Tuesday. Following the system's departure on Thursday, light precipitation is anticipated into the weekend.
Another low may arrive by Sunday, bringing a 50-70% chance of heavier precipitation into early next week.
On Tuesday, highs ranging from upper 50s in the west to mid-70s in the east. Wednesday and Thursday, highs will drop to mid-50s to low 60. Friday and Saturday, expect closer-to-normal highs in the 60s. Sunday and Monday, highs will further decrease into the 50s with the arrival of the next weather system.
