We had beautiful summer-like weather today with partly to mostly sunny skies, dry conditions, and unseasonably warm temperatures as highs were in the mid to upper 70s and low to mid 80s. As of 5pm today, Cut Bank, Great Falls, and Helena all tied their record high temperature for April 21st.
Here is the detailed forecast:
It is going to be mild again tonight as lows are going to be in the 40s and low 50s. It is also going to be partly cloudy tonight and a stray shower is possible, but most locations will continue to remain dry. There is also going to be a little bit of a breeze around in some areas tonight as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 5 and 20 mph.
Changes begin to arrive tomorrow as a storm system approaches our area. The cloud cover will increase as we go through the day and there will be some scattered rain showers and thunderstorms around during the afternoon and evening. The wind will also get stronger as the day goes on, with widespread gusty conditions expected during the afternoon and evening as gusts up to or over 40 mph are possible.
A wide range of temperatures is also expected tomorrow. Highs in western portions of north-central Montana and around Helena are going to be in the 60s and low 70s, while highs in eastern portions of north-central Montana will be in the mid to upper 70s and low 80s.
A FIRE WEATHER WATCH is in effect for northeastern Montana from 7am/12pm until 7pm tomorrow. High fire danger is expected tomorrow due to the combination of gusty winds, low relative humidity, and warm temperatures, so please do your part to not start any new fires.
Precipitation will become more widespread as we go through tomorrow night and snow levels will drop as well with rain gradually mixing in with and switching over to snow in the lower elevations as the night goes on. Some of the precipitation that falls tomorrow evening/night will be heavy. There are then going to be scattered areas of snow and some rain around on Thursday, generally during the morning, as the storm system continues to impact the state.
Many locations in central and north-central Montana will receive .25” to 1” of precipitation (rain and melted snow) through Thursday evening, with a few areas, especially in and around Cascade County possibly receiving over 1” of precipitation. In terms of snow, in the lower elevations, most locations will receive 0-1” of snow, but a few areas may receive up to 2” or 3” of snow. In the lower elevations between Belt and Lewistown, up to 8” of snow is possible, and travel will be difficult at times tomorrow night and Thursday morning in this area.
At and above mountain pass level, 5-18” of snow is expected, with the snow amounts increasing as you go up in elevation. Travel will be difficult at times at and above mountain pass level tomorrow night and Thursday, so use caution when driving.
A WINTER STORM WATCH is in effect for the mountains in central and southwestern Montana, and Fergus County and Judith Basin County from 6pm Wednesday/12am Thursday until 6pm Thursday.
A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect for the northern Rocky Mountain Front from 6pm Wednesday until 6pm Thursday; for the southern Rocky Mountain Front and the mountains around Helena from 6pm Wednesday until 12pm Friday; and for the Bear Paw mountains and southern Blaine County from 12am until 6pm Thursday.
Widespread gusty to strong winds are also expected tomorrow night and Thursday in north-central Montana, with the strongest wind in locations east of I-15. Sustained wind speeds are going to be between 15 and 35 mph in a lot of locations, and wind gusts are going to be between 40 and 60 mph. This wind will cause there to be blowing snow and low visibility in some areas, so use extreme caution when driving. A HIGH WIND WATCH is in effect for most of north-central and northeastern Montana east of I-15 for most of the day on Thursday.
Around Helena, it is going to be breezy tomorrow night and Thursday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph, and gusts up to 40 mph are possible. It is also going to be significantly colder on Thursday as highs are going to be back in the mid to upper 30s and low to mid 40s, and wind chills will be in the teens and 20s.
There will continue to be scattered snow showers around on Friday as this storm system slowly begins to depart our area. It is also going to be blustery and cold on Friday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 30 mph (strongest along the Hi-Line) and highs are only going to be in the 30s and low 40s.
Thanks to northwesterly flow aloft, it will remain chilly this weekend as highs are only going to be in the mid to upper 30s and low 40s on Saturday and the 40s on Sunday. It will remain breezy in northeastern Montana on Saturday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph. Elsewhere, there will just be a little breeze around this weekend as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 5 and 20 mph. It is also going to be mostly cloudy this weekend and there will be a few scattered snow showers around, generally in the mountains and along the Hi-Line on Saturday, and generally in the mountains and around the Helena area on Sunday.
Warmer temperatures will begin to return next week as highs are going to be back in the 50s on Monday and Tuesday. It is also going to be partly cloudy and mostly dry on these two days, just a few isolated rain and snow showers around.
