We are going to have mainly clear skies and pleasant temperatures tonight as lows are going to be in the mid to upper 40s and low to mid 50s. The wind is also going to diminish this evening, with little to no wind tonight in most locations. Along the Rocky Mountain Front, it will continue to be a bit breezy tonight as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph.
For tomorrow, we are going to have mostly sunny skies (via increasing PM clouds) with some scattered showers/storms around in central Montana, including around Helena, Lewistown, and possibly Great Falls, during the evening. A couple severe thunderstorms with damaging winds will also be possible tomorrow evening. It is also going to be warm again tomorrow as highs are going to be in the 80s in most locations and it will be a little breezy tomorrow along the Rocky Mountain Front and the Hi-Line as a few gusts up to 30 mph are possible.
Friday won’t be a washout, but there will be showers and thunderstorms around, especially during the afternoon and evening, as an upper-level trough begins to impact our area. Some of the thunderstorms that develop on Friday may be severe with damaging winds (58+ mph) and/or large hail (1+” in diameter). Heavy rain is also possible with Friday’s thunderstorms, so there may be some flash flooding. It is also going to be cooler on Friday as highs are going to range from the mid 50s to the mid 70s, with the coolest temperatures along the Rocky Mountain Front and the warmest temperatures in northeastern Montana. There is also going to be a bit of a breeze around east of I-15 on Friday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph.
Wetter and cooler weather is expected this weekend as an upper-level trough is going to be in control of our weather. There will be dry time this weekend, so it is not going to be a total wash-out, but definitely have the rain jacket handy as there are going to be numerous showers and isolated thunderstorms around throughout the weekend. Right now, the driest period looks to be Saturday afternoon/evening. This is also when there will be some sunshine, although most of the weekend will be mostly cloudy. Current models are indicating that a large swatch of north-central Montana may receive over 1" of rain from Thursday through Sunday.
Snow levels will fall this weekend and may get as low as 5000 feet Saturday night into Sunday morning. A WINTER STORM WATCH is in effect for Glacier National Park from noon on Saturday until noon on Sunday as up to a foot of snow is possible above 6000’ and up to 4” of snow is possible on the valley floors. Going-to-the-Sun road may be temporarily closed this weekend due to this snow. If you are going to be recreating outdoors this weekend in Glacier National Park or the Bob Marshall Wilderness, be prepared for cold, wet, and raw conditions.
Much cooler temperatures are also expected this weekend as highs are going to be in the 50s and 60s on Saturday and the mid to upper 40s and low to mid 50s on Sunday. It is also going to be gusty this weekend as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 30 mph, and wind gusts over 40 mph are possible. The strongest wind this weekend will be along the Hi-Line and the Rocky Mountain Front, and the wind will be stronger on Saturday than it will be on Sunday.
The cooler temperatures won’t last long as highs will be back in the 60s on Monday and the 70s on Tuesday. We are also going to have partly to mostly sunny skies on these two days with a few showers and thunderstorms around, especially in the mountains and generally during the PM hours.
