Friday will be a transitional day from the cool airmass to the incoming warm one. There will be some clouds and isolated showers of rain and snow. The best chance for precipitation will be over the mountains and far northeast Montana. Highs will get closer to average in the 40s to around 50. West wind will blow as high as 25-30mph.
Temperatures will continue to warm on Saturday with highs in the 50s to around 60. Skies will be partly to mostly cloudy at times, but expect clearing later in the day. Once again, wind will be as high as 30mph.
Sunday's temperatures will shoot up into the 60s to near 70 for many locations. Skies will be mostly sunny. The one issue will be the wind, which could gust higher than 70mph along the Rocky Mountain Front. North-central Montana could have gusts approach 50mph. Sunday is the "warm before the storm" as a strong front will cut across the state early on Monday.
This front will have squalls and briefly heavy rain and snow, quickly turning to snow. An isolated rumble of thunder is not out of the question. Very strong wind will accompany the front as well. Morning temperatures in the 40s will tumble into the 20s later in the day. Areas of snow will move through the state. While the mountains will see several inches, there could be a couple inches into the lower elevations. Monday night's temperatures could drop into the 0s and 10s. Tuesday will be a chilly, blustery day with a mix of sunshine and snow showers. Temperatures will warm back up above average by Wednesday and certainly Thursday of next week.
Have a great day.
Curtis Grevenitz
Chief Meteorologist
