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Increasing wind on Wednesday, then very windy on Thursday

Also a lot colder with evening rain and snow around on Thursday
Posted at 6:15 PM, May 17, 2022
and last updated 2022-05-17 20:15:33-04

A HIGH WIND WARNING is in effect for the Rocky Mountain Front, eastern Glacier County, and Toole County from 3pm Wednesday until 6pm/9pm Thursday. Sustained wind speeds are going to be between 30 and 45 mph, and wind gusts up to 70 mph are going to be possible at times.

A HIGH WIND WATCH is in effect for the rest of north-central Montana from 12am until 9pm Thursday. Sustained wind speeds are going to be between 30 and 40 mph, and wind gusts up to 60 mph are going to be possible at times.

A WINTER STORM WATCH is in effect for Cascade County, Judith Basin County, Meagher County, and the Rocky Mountain Front from 12pm Thursday until 12pm Friday. 6+ inches of snow accumulation is possible, mainly above 4000 to 5000 feet.

We are going to have partly cloudy skies and dry conditions tonight. It is also going to be cool tonight as lows are going to be in the 40s and mid to upper 30s. There is also going to be a bit of a breeze around tonight as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 5 and 20 mph.

For tomorrow, we are going to have partly to mostly cloudy skies with a chance of PM rain showers and isolated thunderstorms as a disturbance begins to approach our area. The wind is also going to increase throughout the day tomorrow, and we are going to have gusty winds around tomorrow afternoon and evening, as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 30 mph, and wind gusts up to 50 mph are going to be possible at times. It is also going to be mild again tomorrow as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 60s and low 70s in most locations.

On Thursday, we are going to have increasing clouds throughout the day, and a large area of rain and mountain snow will work its way southward through north-central Montana during the afternoon and central/south-central Montana during the evening as a storm system begins to work its way through our area. A few lower elevation locations may also see some snow Thursday afternoon and evening. There are then going to be areas of rain and snow around Thursday night as this storm system continues to impact our area. Rain and snow showers are then expected on Friday as this storm system begins to depart our area.

In the mountains, 6 to 18 inches of snow accumulation is expected between Thursday and Friday. In the lower elevations, 0 to 5 inches of snow accumulation is expected over these two days, with the highest amounts occurring in the valleys and the northerly upslope regions of the mountain ranges in central Montana.

It is also going to be chilly on Thursday and Friday as highs are only going to be in the mid to upper 40s and low to mid 50s in most locations. Strong winds are also expected on Thursday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 20 and 40 mph, and wind gusts over 60 mph are going to be possible at times. It is then going to be breezy on Friday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph.

For this weekend, we are going to have partly cloudy skies with a few rain/snow showers and isolated thunderstorms around, generally in the mountains, as we continue to remain in an unsettled weather pattern. The temperatures are also going to warm back up this weekend as highs are going to be in the 50s on Saturday, and the low to mid 60s on Sunday.

On Monday, we are going to have partly to mostly cloudy skies with a slight chance of rain showers and thunderstorms. There are then going to be some isolated rain showers and thunderstorms around on Tuesday as a disturbance passes by our area. We are also going to have seasonable temperatures on these two days as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 60s and low 70s. It is also going to be a bit breezy on these two days as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph.