Our warm-up began today, although it was still chilly outside as highs were only in the mid to upper 30s and low 40s. There were also scattered snow showers around Helena this morning and early this afternoon, and there were a few rain and snow showers around in north-central Montana during the day today.
Tonight, we are going to have partly to mostly cloudy skies with some isolated rain and snow showers around, generally after midnight and in central Montana/eastern portions of north-central Montana. There are also going to be a few areas of fog/freezing drizzle around tonight. It is also going to be chilly again tonight as lows are going to be in the 20s and low to mid 30s.
Here is the detailed forecast:
There are then going to be some scattered rain and mountain snow showers around tomorrow and tomorrow night, generally in locations east of I-15, as a disturbance begins to impact our area. On Thursday, there are going to be a few scattered rain and mountain snow showers around, generally in locations east of I-15, as this disturbance begins to depart our area. We are also going to have partly to mostly cloudy skies on these two days, with the skies clearing out some as we head into Thursday afternoon and evening.
Not a lot of precipitation is expected through Thursday evening as most locations will receive less than .2” of precipitation, with the lowest amounts expected in locations around and west of I-15. East of I-15, a few areas may receive over .2” of precipitation. In the mountains in central Montana, light snow accumulations of a coating to a couple inches are possible, with the majority of the accumulation occurring above mountain pass level.
The temperatures are also going to warm up some over the next two days as highs tomorrow are going to be in the mid to upper 40s and low 50s, and highs on Thursday are going to be in the 50s and upper 40s. Little to no wind is expected tomorrow except in Valley County where it will be a bit breezy. On Thursday, it will be a little breezy in eastern portions of north-central Montana as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 5 and 20 mph. Along the Rocky Mountain Front, the wind will increase as we head into the afternoon and in western portions of north-central Montana the wind will begin to increase late Thursday evening.
Gusty winds are expected Friday and this weekend as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph, and wind gusts up to 40 mph are possible. We are also going to have pleasant temperatures Friday and this weekend as highs on Friday and Saturday are going to be in the 50s, and highs on Sunday are going to be in the mid to upper 50s and low to mid 60s.
On Friday, we are going to have partly cloudy skies with some scattered rain showers around in north-central Montana, especially during the afternoon and evening. Saturday will feature beautiful weather with partly to mostly sunny skies and mostly dry conditions. It is then going to be partly to mostly cloudy on Sunday and there are going to be a few scattered rain and mountain snow showers around, generally during the afternoon and evening.
Another storm will impact the state early next week. On Monday and Tuesday, we are going to have mostly cloudy skies and there are going to be some scattered rain and mountain snow showers around. Falling snow levels are also expected, so some lower elevation snow will be possible Monday night into Tuesday. It is also going to be cooler on these two days as highs are going to be back in the mid to upper 40s and low to mid 50s. There is also going to be a breeze (10-20 mph) around in some areas on these two days.
