WEATHER DISCUSSION: Saturday saw showers and thunderstorms throughout the afternoon and into the early evening hours through portions of North Central and Central Montana. In Great Falls, a brief period of heavy rain dowsed downtown Central Ave, putting a small hold on the festivities at the Beer Fest event. Much to the event-goers delight, the brief period of rain ended almost as quickly as it had snuck in, and chances for added rainfall and showers in Great Falls and in the rest of the region will decrease throughout the night.
Mostly cloudy skies and overnight lows in the 50’s are in the forecast for the rest of Saturday. The primary concerns throughout the night are lightning and reduced visibility due to heavy rain. Thankfully, the Flash Flood Warning that was issued earlier Saturday ended by 6:30 pm, affecting mostly Lewis and Clark County. Flood Advisories and Flood Watches continued later though, at this time are expected to end by the late evening hours.
Sunday will see sunnier, partly cloudy skies and calmer winds than Saturday, though chances for 20 mph gusts will persist throughout the day. Chances for daily showers and thunderstorms will continue through the weekend and into next week as well as 70-degree daily highs. Temperatures also have the possibility to cool down slightly in the latter half of the week into the 60’s.
SATURDAY NIGHT: Chance of showers and possible thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, lows in 50’s with 6-10 mph winds.
SUNDAY: Chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. Partly cloudy with highs in the 70’s and lows in the 50’s. Light and variable winds from 5-8 mph in the morning, steadily increasing throughout the day to 6-10 mph.
MONDAY: Showers likely with possible thunderstorms. Mostly sunny with highs in the 70’s and lows in the 50’s. 6-10 mph winds.
TUESDAY: Chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny becoming partly cloudy with highs in the 70’s, and lows in the 50’s. 6-11 mph winds with gusts up to 18 mph.
WEDNESDAY: Chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. Partly sunny becoming mostly cloudy with highs in the 70’s and lows in the 40’s.
THURSDAY: Chance of showers and thunderstorms. Otherwise, partly sunny becoming partly cloudy with highs in the 60’s and lows in the 40’s.
FRIDAY: Chance of showers, mostly sunny, and highs near 70.