Temperatures soared to summer-like and record territory on Wednesday with highs in the 70s and 80s. Cut Bank set a new record high, while Great Falls and Helena tied record highs.
Wednesday Morning Forecast:
A cold Pacific storm is headed towards the state today. We’ll start with some sunshine early, but clouds increase through the day with scattered showers and thunderstorms developing this afternoon and evening. Highs still manage to reach the 80s in eastern Montana, but central and western Montana cool into the 60s and 70s.
Strong southerly winds ahead of the storm, combined with warm temperatures and low humidity between 10% and 20%, will elevate the fire danger today. Red Flag Warnings are in effect from 9 a.m. through 9 p.m. Winds will then shift to the northwest behind a cold front this evening into tonight. A High Wind Watch goes into effect tonight through Thursday afternoon, with gusts potentially reaching 50 to 60+ mph in the watch area.
That front moves through this evening and tonight, and temperatures will tumble quickly after sunset, falling into the upper 20s and 30s by Thursday morning. Widespread rain and mountain snow develop behind the front, with snow levels falling quickly and all elevations changing over to snow by Thursday morning.
Heavy snowfall rates combined with strong winds could lead to very low visibility and even blizzard conditions for areas along US-87 and MT-200 east of Great Falls toward Armington Junction, Belt, and Geyser, as well as from Monarch Canyon into the Little Belts and east of Lewistown over the Lewistown Divide.
Thursday will be blustery and cold with snow showers, gusty winds, and temperatures only in the 30s. Heavy snow will fall in the mountains, but some lower elevations, mainly between Great Falls and Lewistown, could pick up a few inches of snow as well. Temperatures dip into the 10s and 20s overnight.
Another system brings additional snow to the mountains along the Divide and into southwestern Montana Thursday night into Friday. Some snow showers could get into the valleys at times, including Helena. It will be another brisk day Friday with highs in the 30s to near 40 and a cold breeze gusting 30 to 40 mph.
The storm system moves away this weekend, but it will stay cool and unsettled with lots of clouds and passing rain and snow showers. High temperatures will only reach the 30s and 40s.
