A total lunar eclipse is going to be visible all throughout the United States tonight where skies are clear. A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth is positioned in between the Sun and the Moon, so it casts a shadow on the moon. Totality, when the moon is completely blood red, will occur from 4:04am MST through 5:02am MST. Most of us in Montana will have mainly clear skies during totality, so the viewing conditions will be great, but there will be cloud cover around in western Montana, along the northern half of the Rocky Mountain Front, and in northern Phillips County/Valley County, so the viewing conditions will not be optimal in those areas. For more information about the total lunar eclipse, head here: https://www.krtv.com/weather/total-lunar-eclipse-will-turn-moon-red-blood-moon-viewing-guide-for-montana
Tonight will be mainly clear and chilly as lows are going to be in the mid to upper 20s and low to mid 30s. It will continue to be breezy tonight along the Rocky Mountain Front as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph. Elsewhere, there will be little to no wind around tonight.
Here's the detailed forecast:
We are going to have beautiful weather again tomorrow with partly to mostly sunny skies (via increasing clouds), dry conditions, and mild temperatures as highs are going to be in the 50s and low to mid 60s. There will be more wind around tomorrow though as it is going to be gusty (sustained wind speeds between 15 and 30 mph) along the Rocky Mountain Front and breezy (sustained wind speeds between 10 and 20 mph) east of the Rocky Mountain Front.
On Wednesday, it is going to be cloudy and there will be some rain/snow along the Divide as a storm system begins to impact the western half of the state. East of the Divide, it will be mainly dry during the day on Wednesday. There are then going to be some scattered rain and snow showers around Wednesday night and Thursday, especially in central Montana, as this storm system passes through our area. Skies will gradually clear out from west to east as we go through the day on Thursday.
It will be mild again on Wednesday as highs are going to be in the 50s. It will then be a little cooler on Thursday as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 40s and low to mid 50s. Along the Rocky Mountain Front, it will be breezy on Wednesday and Thursday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph. East of the Rocky Mountain Front, it will be a bit breezy (10-20 mph) in Cascade County and Judith Basin County on Wednesday and it will be a bit breezy (10-20 mph) in a lot of areas on Thursday.
Another disturbance will impact the state on Friday producing some isolated snow and rain showers, generally during the morning and in central Montana. It is also going to be partly to mostly sunny and cool on Friday as highs are going to be in the 40s and low 50s. There is also going to be a good breeze (10-25 mph) around on Friday east of the Rocky Mountain Front, while gusty to strong winds will develop along the Rocky Mountain Front.
This weekend will be a windy one as gusts over 80 mph are possible along the Rocky Mountain Front and gusts over 50 mph are possible east of the Rocky Mountain Front. Sustained wind speeds in a lot of locations this weekend will be between 15 and 45 mph. It is also going to be mild this weekend as highs are going to be in the 50s in most locations. Saturday will be partly to mostly cloudy and dry. Sunday will be mostly cloudy and there will be some isolated rain and mountain snow/rain showers around as another disturbance impacts the state.
As a reminder, this weekend Daylight Saving Time will begin at 2am on Sunday, so before you go to bed Saturday night, make sure you set your clocks forward one hour. We are going to lose an hour of sleep this weekend, but at least the sunsets will be after 7pm again! Also, make sure you check our smoke detectors/carbon monoxide detectors to make sure that they are still working.
There are then going to be scattered rain and snow showers around on Monday as a stronger disturbance impacts the state. It is also going to be windy and cooler on Monday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 15 and 35 mph, and highs are going to be in the mid to upper 40s and low to mid 50s.
