It has been very windy again today along the Rocky Mountain Front and in the Cut Bank area as peak wind gusts have been between 60 and 90 mph in a lot of locations. Deep Creek in Glacier County once again had the strongest wind gust in the state with a peak wind gust of 91 mph. Elsewhere, it has been a gusty/windy day as peak wind gusts have been between 35 and 65 mph. Great Falls recorded a peak wind gust of 55 mph. These peak wind gusts are valid as of 3pm Friday.
A HIGH WIND WARNING remains in effect for the Rocky Mountain Front/the Divide, the Cut Bank area, the higher terrain in central Montana, and Cascade, Fergus, and Judith Basin counties until 12pm Saturday. The strongest wind will occur this evening.
As we go through tonight, the wind is gradually going to diminish. The wind will then be a lot weaker tomorrow than it was today, but it is still going to be breezy as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph, and wind gusts over 40 mph are possible. A brief period of stronger winds (gusts over 50 mph) will be possible tomorrow with the passage of a cold front.
Here is the detailed forecast:
Gusty winds will return on Sunday to the Rocky Mountain Front as gusts over 50 mph are possible. East of the Rocky Mountain Front, it will be breezy again on Sunday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph.
It was also unseasonably warm today as highs were in the 70s and low 80s in a lot of locations, and a ton of locations set a new record high temperature today, making it a record breaking start to Astronomical Spring (Spring began at 8:46 Friday morning). In north-central Montana, Glasgow, Great Falls, and Helena, all set a new record high temperature today.
It is going to be mild again tonight as lows are going to be in the 40s and low 50s. Cooler and more seasonable temperatures are then expected this weekend as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 40s and low to mid 50s.
The cloud cover will increase as we go through tonight. Most locations will be dry tonight, but there will be some rain/snow in the Glacier area and a couple isolated rain showers are possible along the Hi-Line. There are then going to be scattered rain and mountain snow showers around tomorrow, especially in the mountains and in locations east of I-15, as a cold front passes through the state. Some snow may also mix in with this rain in locations along the Hi-Line and near the Canadian border, although little to no snow accumulation is expected. It is also going to be partly to mostly cloudy tomorrow.
There are then going to be a few snow and rain showers around tomorrow night and Sunday morning along the eastern half of the Hi-Line (east of Havre), and light snow accumulations of up to an inch are possible. Sunday will be a mostly sunny and mostly dry day, with the cloud cover increasing during the afternoon and evening.
Monday will be a mostly cloudy, dry, and cool day as highs are going to be in the 50s. It is also going to be a bit breezy in some areas on Monday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph.
There are going to be a few rain and snow showers around Tuesday through Thursday, generally in the mountains and along the Hi-Line, as a few disturbances pass through our area. Tuesday will be cloudy; Wednesday will be partly cloudy; and Thursday will be mostly sunny.
Tuesday and Thursday will be gusty days as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 30 mph, and wind gusts over 40 mph are possible. Another round of strong winds is expected on Wednesday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 15 and 35 mph, and wind gusts over 50 mph are possible.
It is also going to be mild on Tuesday and Wednesday as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 50s and low to mid 60s. The temperatures will then cool down some for Thursday as highs are going to be back in the 40s.
Friday will feature nice weather with mostly sunny skies, weaker wind, and pleasant temperatures as highs are going to be in the 50s.
