It was a windy St. Patrick’s Day as peak wind gusts were between 40 and 70 mph in a lot of locations. The strongest wind gust in the state today was at Deep Creek in Glacier County, which recorded a peak wind gust of 96 mph this morning. It was also a lot warmer today than it was yesterday as highs were in the mid to upper 50s and low to mid 60s.
Tonight will be partly to mostly cloudy and mild as lows are going to be in the 40s and upper 30s in most locations. It is also going to continue to be windy tonight along the Rocky Mountain Front as gusts over 60 mph are expected. East of the Rocky Mountain Front, it will be gusty/windy tonight as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 30 mph, and wind gusts between 40 and 55 mph are possible. Most locations will remain dry tonight, but there will be a few rain showers around east of I-15 after midnight and there will be a few rain/snow showers along the Divide.
Here is the detailed forecast:
It will continue to be very windy along the Rocky Mountain Front and in the Cut Bank area tomorrow through Friday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 25 and 45 mph, and wind gusts up to 85 mph are possible. A HIGH WIND WARNING is in effect for the Rocky Mountain Front and the Cut Bank area from 6am until 9pm tomorrow.
East of the Rocky Mountain Front in north-central Montana, it will continue to be windy tomorrow through Friday as sustained wind speeds in a lot of locations are going to be between 15 and 35 mph, and wind gusts will be between 45 and 65 mph. A HIGH WIND WARNING is in effect for portions of Judith Basin County from 9am until 9pm tomorrow.
The Helena Valley and Banana Belt will be sheltered from the stronger wind on these three days, but it will still be breezy/gusty tomorrow through Friday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph, and wind gusts over 40 mph are possible at times.
The temperatures will continue to warm up for the middle and end of the work week as highs are going to be in the 60s and low 70s tomorrow and the mid to upper 60s and low to mid 70s on Thursday and Friday. Some locations may tie or set a new record high temperature on one or multiple of these days. Partly to mostly cloudy skies and mostly dry conditions are also expected on these three days as an upper-level ridge will be in control of our weather. The only precipitation the next few days will be along/near the Divide where there will be a few rain/snow showers Wednesday and Friday. There will also be a few rain showers around tomorrow morning east of I-15, generally around the Havre area and the Bear Paw mountains.
A cold front will pass through Montana on Saturday bringing a few rain/snow showers and cooler temperatures back to our area as highs are going to be back in the mid to upper 40s and low to mid 50s. It is also going to be breezy on Saturday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph, and this wind will be a colder wind as it will be coming out of the west-northwest.
Sunday will be mostly sunny and dry and Monday will be partly to mostly cloudy and dry as high pressure will once again be in control of our weather. It is also going to be cool and a bit breezy on these two days as highs are going to be in the 50s and upper 40s and sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph.
