A disturbance will work its way through our area tonight, so there are going to be a few scattered rain and mountain snow showers around, generally before midnight and generally in the higher terrain and in locations east of I-15. It is also going to be mostly cloudy tonight, with the cloud cover decreasing some during the second half of the night. The wind will gradually increase from west to east as we go through tonight, with windy conditions (gusts over 50 mph) developing along the Rocky Mountain Front and gusty conditions (gusts up to 40 mph) developing east of the Rocky Mountain Front. Well above average temperatures are also expected tonight as lows are going to be in the 40s and low 50s.
Here is the detailed forecast:
Widespread gusty to strong winds are expected tomorrow as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 15 and 35 mph, and wind gusts will be between 40 and 60 mph. A HIGH WIND WARNING is in effect for portions of the Hi-Line from Cut Bank to the Blaine/Phillips County line and for portions of southwestern Montana for most of the day as gusts up to 60 mph are possible in these locations.
This wind will also elevate the fire danger, so please do your part to not start any new fires. A RED FLAG WARNING is in effect for most of southwestern and south-central Montana, including the Helena area, from 12pm-7pm/9pm tomorrow.
It is also going to be partly cloudy tomorrow and there will be a few scattered rain and mountain snow showers around, mainly in the higher terrain and in locations east of I-15. Highs tomorrow will be in the 50s and low to mid 60s in most spots.
There are going to be a few scattered snow and rain showers around Wednesday night and Thursday, especially Thursday morning, as a cold front passes through our area. In the lower elevations, up to an inch of snow is possible, but most will receive little to no snow accumulation. In the mountains, a coating to a few inches of snow is possible. It is also going to be partly to mostly sunny and colder on Thursday as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 30s and low to mid 40s, with the coldest temperatures along the Hi-Line. In north-central Montana, it will be breezy on Thursday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph, and wind gusts up to 40 mph are possible. In central Montana, it will be gusty on Thursday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 30 mph, and wind gusts up to 50 mph are possible
Pleasant weather is expected Friday through Sunday as an upper-level ridge is going to be in control of our weather. On these three days, it is going to be dry and there is only going to be a little breeze around as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 5 and 20 mph. Friday will be mainly sunny, while Saturday and Sunday will be partly to mostly cloudy. The temperatures are also going to warm back up over these three days as highs on Friday are going to be in the 50s; highs on Saturday are going to be in the mid to upper 50s and low to mid 60s; and highs on Sunday are going to be in the 60s and low 70s.
