It was another very warm day today as highs were in the 80s and low to mid 90s. There have also been some scattered showers and thunderstorms around this afternoon and evening, and a few of these thunderstorms have been strong to severe with gusty winds and large hail. There has also been minor flooding in some areas as these storms have been dropping a lot of rain and have been slow-moving.
Here is the detailed forecast:
There will continue to be a few scattered showers and thunderstorms around for the rest of this evening and tonight, generally before midnight. The main hazards with these thunderstorms will be gusty winds, medium to large-sized hail, lightning, and heavy rainfall which could lead to some flooding. It will be partly to mostly cloudy for the first half of tonight, but the skies will clear out during the second half of the night. It will also be mild again tonight as lows are going to be in the 50s and low to mid 60s, with the warmest temperatures in northeastern Montana.
The cloud cover will increase as we go through the day tomorrow and there will be some scattered showers and thunderstorms around during the afternoon and evening. A few of the thunderstorms that develop later on tomorrow may be severe with damaging winds (58+ mph) and/or large hail (1+”). Heavy rainfall is also possible, which could lead to minor flooding in some areas.
It is also going to be very warm again tomorrow as highs are going to be in the upper 70s, 80s, and low to mid 90s, but this will be our last hot day for a while. A HEAT ADVISORY remains in effect for northeastern Montana through 6pm tomorrow.
A cut-off low will bring cooler and wetter weather to our area this weekend, and this cooler and wetter weather will stick around through early next week.
On Saturday, there will be showers and thunderstorms around throughout the day, with the precipitation becoming more widespread in western Montana as the day goes on. A few strong to severe thunderstorms will be possible Saturday afternoon/evening, especially in eastern Montana, so keep an eye to the sky if you are going to be outdoors at all.
Sunday and Monday will be wet days as widespread rain is likely, especially in north-central Montana. Isolated thunderstorms will also be possible on these two days. The storm system will start to pull away from our area on Tuesday, so the precipitation will begin to move out of the state, but there will still be scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms around, especially during the morning. Some of the rain that falls this weekend and early next week may be heavy at times.
This storm will bring beneficial moisture to a lot of the state. There is still uncertainty in the exact track of the storm and where the heaviest/most consistent precipitation will fall, but right now, it looks likely that most of the state will receive 1-3” of rain from Saturday through Tuesday, with up to 4” possible. Flooding is not a major concern at the moment, but minor flooding is possible in localized areas.
The temperatures will cool down a lot this weekend. Highs are going to be in the mid to upper 50s, 60s, and 70s on Saturday, with the coolest temperatures in central Montana and in locations west of I-15 in north-central Montana and the warmest temperatures along the eastern half of the Hi-Line. It is then going to be cool for almost everyone on Sunday as highs are going to be in the 50s and upper 40s (60s along the eastern half of the Hi-Line). The wind will also begin to increase on Saturday, especially later in the day. Widespread breezy/gusty conditions are then expected on Sunday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph, and wind gusts up to 40 mph are possible.
The temperatures will slowly warm back up early next week as highs are going to be in the 50s and low to mid 60s on Monday and the 60s on Tuesday. There is also going to be a breeze around on Monday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph.
Nice weather is then expected on Wednesday as weak high pressure will be in control of our weather. On Wednesday, it is going to be partly cloudy, mostly dry, and mild as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 60s and low 70s.
