A LAKE WIND ADVISORY is in effect for Fort Peck Lake until 6pm Friday.
There have been scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms around throughout the day today, and there will continue to be a few showers around this evening and tonight, but these showers will gradually taper off as the evening/night goes on, with mostly dry conditions expected after midnight. The wind is also going to diminish this evening in western portions of north-central Montana. In eastern portions of north-central Montana, breezy conditions will continue through the night with sustained wind speeds between 10 and 20 mph. We are also going to have partly to mostly cloudy skies and cool temperatures tonight as lows are going to be in the 30s and low to mid 40s.
For tomorrow, we are going to have partly to mostly cloudy skies with some scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms around during the afternoon/evening. It is also going to be breezy (gusts up to 40 mph) again tomorrow in eastern portions of north-central Montana, with just a little breeze elsewhere. Warmer temperatures are also expected tomorrow as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 50s and low to mid 60s.
Saturday will be the nicer day of the weekend as we are going to have a mixture of sun and clouds with just a few showers and thunderstorms around, generally in locations east of I-15. It is also going to be mild on Saturday as highs are going to be in the 60s, and there will be little to no wind for most of us, but it will be a bit breezy in northeastern Montana.
A stronger storm will bring another round of lower elevation rain and mountain snow to the state Saturday night through Monday, with the precipitation gradually tapering off as we go through Monday. Snow levels may get as low as 5000-6000 feet Sunday night into Monday morning, so some mountain passes may be slushy for the Monday morning commute.
The exact storm track will determine who sees the most precipitation, but right now, portions of central and southeastern Montana have the best chance to receive at least 1" of precipitation. A lot of north-central Montana is expected to receive at least .25" of rain with this storm. In some of the mountains, especially in southern Montana, over a foot of snow is possible.
Cooler temperatures will also return for Sunday and Monday as highs are going to be back in the mid to upper 40s and low to mid 50s on Sunday and the mid to upper 50s and low 60s on Monday. It is also going to be breezy on Sunday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph. There is then going to be a little breeze around on Monday.
A few more showers and thunderstorms are then possible on Tuesday and Wednesday as we are going to remain in an unsettled weather pattern. We are also going to have partly cloudy to mostly sunny skies and pleasant temperatures on these two days as highs are going to be in the 60s in most locations. There is also going to be a breeze around on these two days as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph.
It does look like warmer and drier weather will return for Memorial Day weekend! 😊
