It was unseasonably warm today as highs were in the mid to upper 60s and low to mid 70s, and for some locations, it was a record warm November 13th as Billings, Great Falls, and Miles City all set a new record high temperature today and Helena tied their record high temperature for today. No surprise though, if it is this warm in November, that typically means we are dealing with a lot of wind. It was very windy today along the northern half of the Rocky Mountain Front as peak wind gusts were over 80 mph. Elsewhere, it was a gusty day today as peak wind gusts were over 40 mph in some locations.
It will continue to be very windy along the Rocky Mountain Front and in the Cut Bank area tonight and tomorrow as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 30 and 55 mph, and wind gusts up to 85 mph are possible. Due to this strong wind, a HIGH WIND WARNING is in effect for these areas until 5pm tomorrow. A HIGH WIND WARNING is also in effect for part of Judith Basin County and Judith Gap until 5pm tomorrow as gusts up to 60 mph are possible.
East of the Rocky Mountain Front, it will be windy tonight and tomorrow as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 30 mph, and wind gusts up to 50 mph are possible. The weakest wind tonight and tomorrow will be in the valleys and in eastern portions of north-central Montana where it will just be a bit breezy with sustained wind speeds between 10 and 20 mph.
Here is the detailed forecast:
We are also going to have increasing clouds tonight with rain/snow likely along the Divide, especially later on tonight, and some scattered rain showers east of the Divide after midnight. Tomorrow will not be a wash-out, but there are going to be scattered rain and mountain snow/rain showers around throughout the day, so make sure you have that rain jacket handy. We are also going to have mostly cloudy skies tomorrow.
It is going to be mild tonight as lows are going to be in the mid to upper 40s and low to mid 50s. It is then going to be cooler tomorrow than it was today, but still mild as highs are going to be in the 50s and low 60s.
There is then going to be some rain, potentially mixing in with snow, around tomorrow night and Saturday morning along the eastern half of the Hi-Line (Hill County and eastward), and there will be snow around tomorrow night through Saturday morning along the Divide. In the lower elevations, little to no snow accumulation is expected through Saturday morning. Along the Divide, over a half foot of snow is possible, while in the other mountain ranges, light snow accumulations of up to an inch or two are possible through Saturday morning. We are also going to have decreasing clouds on Saturday.
Saturday will be a mild day as highs are going to be in the 50s and upper 40s. It is also going to be windy on Saturday in western and central portions of north-central Montana as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 30 mph, and wind gusts up to 50 mph are possible.
Sunday will be a pleasant day as we are going to have partly to mostly cloudy skies, mostly dry conditions, little to no wind, and mild temperatures as highs are going to be in the 50s.
A more active weather pattern is expected next week as multiple disturbances pass through Montana. On Monday, we are going to have mostly cloudy skies with some scattered rain and mountain snow showers around, and on Tuesday, we are going to have mostly cloudy skies with some scattered rain and snow showers around as one of these disturbances works its way through the state. The temperatures are also going to cool down some over these two days as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 40s and low to mid 50s on Monday and the mid to upper 30s and low to mid 40s on Tuesday.
There are then going to be a few rain and snow showers around on Wednesday and some isolated snow and rain showers around on Thursday as a couple more disturbances impact the state. We are also going to have partly to mostly cloudy skies on these two days. It is also going to be chilly on these two days as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 30s and low to mid 40s.
