It has been a windy day today as a cold front has been slowly working its way through our area. Peak wind gusts in a lot of locations have been between 40 and 60 mph (as of 5pm), and there were a few wind gusts over 70 mph earlier today along the Rocky Mountain Front. It was also mild today as highs were in the 60s in a lot of locations, but temperatures have been sharply dropping behind the cold front into the 30s and 40s. There have also been a few rain and snow showers around this afternoon and evening behind the cold front.
It will continue to be windy this evening, but the wind will begin to diminish some. The wind will then continue to diminish tonight in western portions of north-central Montana and around the Helena area. It is then just going to be a little breezy (5-20 mph) in these areas tomorrow. In eastern portions of north-central Montana, gusty winds will continue tonight and tomorrow. Sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 30 mph, and wind gusts of 40-60 mph are possible.
Here is the detailed forecast:
A HIGH WIND WARNING remains in effect for southern Blaine County, the Bear Paw mountains, Fergus County, and southwestern Phillips County until 12pm/6pm Wednesday. Elsewhere in north-central Montana and central Montana, the HIGH WIND WARNING will expire at 9pm/12am tonight.
There are going to be a few scattered snow and rain showers around this evening and tonight, generally in locations east of I-15 and along the Hi-Line, as the cold front continues to push through our area. Little to no snow accumulation is expected. It is also going to be partly cloudy to mostly clear and chilly tonight as lows are going to be in the 20s.
There will be a few more scattered snow and rain showers around late tomorrow night and Thursday morning as another disturbance passes through our area, and minor snow accumulations are possible. Thursday will start off with a good amount of cloud cover, but the skies will clear out as the day goes on and it will be partly to mostly sunny during the afternoon and evening. Around Helena, lots of sunshine is expected on Thursday. It is also going to be cool on Thursday as highs are going to be in the 50s in most locations and there will be little to no wind.
Friday will be a gorgeous day as high pressure is going to be in complete control of our weather. Friday will feature lots of sunshine (partly cloudy around Helena), little wind, and warmer temperatures as highs are going to be in the 60s in most locations.
Saturday will be a warm day as highs are going to be in the upper 60s and low to mid 70s. It is also going to be partly cloudy on Saturday and there will be a few rain showers and thunderstorms around during the afternoon/evening in central Montana. There are then going to be scattered rain and mountain snow showers around on Sunday, generally during the afternoon and evening, as a storm system begins to impact the state. It will also be a lot cooler on Sunday as highs are going to be in the 50s and low 60s. Breezy conditions are also expected on Sunday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph.
More scattered rain and snow showers are expected on Monday as this storm system continues to impact the state. The temperatures will also continue to cool down as we head into Monday as highs are going to be back in the 40s. There will also be a little breeze around on Monday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 5 and 20 mph.
