Good Morning! Today is Thursday, October 8, 2026.
Beautiful weather is expected again today as an upper-level ridge remains firmly in control of our weather pattern. Tomorrow will still be a nice day, but winds will increase ahead of an approaching trough. A major pattern change is then expected this weekend as a strong upper-level trough moves into the Pacific Northwest, bringing much colder temperatures and widespread rain and snow to Montana.
Today will be mostly sunny, with lots of sunshine this morning and increasing clouds during the afternoon and evening. It will be mild today with highs in the 70s and low 80s. Along the Rocky Mountain Front, it will be breezy today, with sustained winds of 10 to 20 mph. Elsewhere, little to no wind is expected today.
Tomorrow will be a warm day and likely the warmest day for the rest of the year as highs will be in the mid to upper 70s and low to mid 80s. Winds will increase as the ridge exits and as a trough approaches our area. Along the Rocky Mountain Front, sustained winds of 15 to 35 mph are expected, with gusts up to 60 mph possible. Elsewhere, breezy to gusty conditions are likely, with sustained winds of 10 to 30 mph and gusts exceeding 40 mph in some locations.
This wind combined with low relative humidity and warm temperatures will elevate the fire danger and a FIRE WEATHER WATCH is in effect for portions of central and south-central Montana, including Great Falls, Helena, and Bozeman, for tomorrow afternoon/evening.
Skies will be partly cloudy tomorrow, and conditions will remain dry, although a few showers are possible along the Rocky Mountain Front during the evening.
A significant cooldown is expected this weekend, with Sunday being the coldest day since last spring. Highs on Saturday will be in the 40s and low 50s, but those highs will occur during the morning, with falling temperatures throughout the day. Sunday will then be a cold day as highs will only be in the 30s and low 40s. There will also be a breeze around this weekend, with sustained winds of 10 to 20 mph, which will make it feel even colder.
Precipitation is expected to develop and become more widespread on Saturday as a storm system begins to impact the state. Widespread precipitation is then expected Saturday night and Sunday.
In the lower elevations, precipitation will initially fall as rain. However, snow levels will fall behind a cold front, allowing rain to mix with and change over to snow across central Montana and western portions of north-central Montana late Saturday morning through early Saturday night. Across eastern portions of north-central Montana, rain will start to mix with snow Saturday evening and Saturday night. On Sunday, precipitation will be in the form of snow throughout the day around Helena and across western portions of north-central Montana, while across eastern portions of north-central Montana, a rain/snow mix or just a chilly rain is expected.
On Monday, there will be some lingering snow/rain around during the morning, especially east of I-15, but the precipitation will taper off and the skies will clear out as the day goes on. Tuesday will then be partly cloudy and mostly dry. The temperatures will also gradually warm back up over these two days, with highs in the 40s on Monday and the 50s on Tuesday.
In the mountains, over a half foot of snow accumulation is expected through Monday evening, with some mountain ranges possibly receiving over a foot of snow. Travel will be difficult at times this weekend and on Monday at and above mountain pass level.
In the lower elevations, snow amounts will range from nothing at all to possibly over a half foot. Right now, the highest snow amounts look to be around Helena and across southern portions of north-central Montana (Cascade, Fergus, and Judith Basin Counties) as well as along the Rocky Mountain Front. This is where 3-8” of snow is expected. Elsewhere in the lower elevations, generally less than 3” of snow is expected. In the lower elevations, roads will primarily just be wet, but they may be slick/snow-covered at times, especially where the higher snow amounts are expected.
There is still some uncertainty in regards to snow amounts due to multiple factors, including how long it takes the snow to begin accumulating due to the warm ground, how low the snow levels get, when the transition from rain to snow occurs, and where the heaviest precipitation falls.
Have a tremendous Thursday!
Chief Meteorologist Ryan Dennis
