Good morning! It’s looking very likely that today will go down as the coolest July 15th on record around central and eastern Montana. This would also be the coolest July day since July 3rd of 1993 in Great Falls. The average high this time of year is 85°.
An upper-level low is moving into northwest Montana this morning and will pass directly over central and eastern Montana later this afternoon and evening. Widespread showers and embedded thunderstorms will continue as the low moves through. Some of the rain could be moderate to heavy at times. The rain will gradually taper off from west to east tonight as the system moves away. Wind gusts could reach 30-40 mph again today.
North-central Montana will receive some very beneficial moisture from this storm system, with many locations getting an additional 0.25” and 0.75” of rain, and a few areas over 1” in some of the heavier showers and storms. Glacier National Park may actually receive up to 2” of rain, and light snow accumulations are possible above 8,500 feet. Helena and areas south and west of Helena will miss out on much of the beneficial rain, with less than 0.25” expected.
Patchy fog and low clouds will be possible into Wednesday morning due to some leftover low-level moisture. However, we will get some sunshine in later in the day. Daytime highs will reach the upper 60s and lower 70s.
A weak system will impact the Hi-Line on Thursday bringing some scattered showers and thunderstorms. Elsewhere, sunshine and pleasant weather returns with high temperatures in the upper 60s and low to mid 70s for the Hi-Line, upper 70s and lower 80s in central Montana and mid to upper 80s in the Helena area.
A very pleasant end to the week on Friday, with temperature start to feel more like July, but still slightly below average in the upper 70s and low to mid 80s. Then, the upcoming weekend will feature isolated showers and thunderstorms, mainly to the east of I-15. More typical July temperatures in the upper 80s and lower 90s for both days.
