Good Morning and Happy Tuesday everyone! Beautiful weather is expected today and tomorrow as an upper-level ridge is going to be in control of our weather. On both days, you can expect partly to mostly sunny skies, mostly dry conditions, and pleasant temperatures as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 60s and low to mid 70s today and the 70s tomorrow. There is also only going to be a little breeze around in most areas today and tomorrow as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 5 and 15 mph. The one exception will be in eastern portions of north-central Montana where it is going to be breezy today as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph, and gusts over 30 mph are possible. There may also be a few areas of fog around this morning.
The ridge will begin to break down on Thursday and Friday as an upper-level trough begins to approach our area. The break-down of the ridge will allow some moisture to return to the state as there will be some scattered showers and thunderstorms around on Thursday, generally during the PM hours, and there will be scattered showers and thunderstorms around Friday afternoon/evening. A few of the thunderstorms that develop on these two days may be strong to severe. It is also going to be partly to mostly cloudy on these two days.
On Thursday, it will be a bit breezy in eastern portions of north-central Montana as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph. Elsewhere, there will be little to no wind around on Thursday. On Friday, there will be a little breeze around as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 5 and 20 mph. It is also going to be mild on these two days as highs are going to be in the 70s in most locations.
Wet and cooler weather is expected this weekend as an upper-level trough works its way through our area. There will be rain showers around throughout the weekend, especially from Saturday afternoon through Sunday, so have the rain jacket handy if you are going to be doing anything outdoors. In the mountains, it will be cold enough for some snow this weekend, with snow levels getting as low as 6000-7000 feet. There will also be some thunderstorms around this weekend, primarily on Saturday.
The temperatures will cool down a lot this weekend as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 60s and low to mid 70s on Saturday and the mid to upper 50s and low to mid 60s on Sunday. There will also be a bit of a breeze around on Saturday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph. Gusty winds are then expected on Sunday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 30 mph, and gusts over 40 mph are possible.
The wet and cool weather will linger into Monday as the trough begins to depart our area. On Monday, it is going to be mostly cloudy and there are going to be scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms around. It will also be cool again on Monday, although it will be a little warmer than it will be on Sunday, as highs are going to be in the upper 50s and low to mid 60s.
Have a terrific Tuesday!
Chief Meteorologist Ryan Dennis
