It was a windy day today as peak wind gusts were between 40 and 60 mph in a lot of locations, with some locations along the Rocky Mountain Front seeing wind gusts over 60 mph. We also had a mixture of sun and clouds and mild temperatures today as highs were in the 50s and low 60s in a lot of locations.
Here is the detailed forecast:
It will remain windy along the Rocky Mountain Front tonight as gusts over 50 mph are possible. Elsewhere, the wind will diminish some tonight, but it is still going to be breezy as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph. Tomorrow will be another windy day as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 15 and 35 mph, and wind gusts are going to be between 40 and 60 mph. In eastern portions of north-central Montana, there initially won’t be much wind tomorrow, but gusty winds will develop as the day goes on. The wind tomorrow is going to be coming out of the west in most locations.
Due to this wind, a HIGH WIND WATCH is in effect for Blaine County, the Bears Paw mountains, and most of Fergus County from 3pm Friday until 3am Saturday as gusts up to 60 mph are possible.
The cloud cover will increase tonight, with some rain and mountain snow showers around after midnight. Tomorrow, rain and mountain snow showers are likely around Helena, generally during the morning, and there are going to be scattered rain and mountain snow showers around in north-central Montana, especially during the morning and mainly in the mountains/in locations east of I-15. A wintry mix of rain, freezing rain, sleet, and/or snow is also possible along the Hi-Line from Hill County eastward to the North Dakota state line tomorrow morning/early afternoon.
Little to no snow and ice accumulation is expected along the Hi-Line during the day tomorrow, but there could possibly be a few slick spots on paved surfaces, so use caution when driving/walking. Along the Divide, up to 6” of snow is possible through tomorrow evening. We are also going to have partly to mostly cloudy skies and seasonable temperatures tomorrow as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 40s and low to mid 50s.
There are then going to be some scattered snow and rain showers around tomorrow evening/night, mainly in locations east of a line from Havre to Lewistown, as a disturbance from Canada clips the state. Light snow accumulations of up to an inch or two are possible by Saturday morning, generally in northeastern Montana.
On Saturday, we are going to have partly cloudy skies and mostly dry conditions, just a couple lingering snow/rain showers along the eastern half of the Hi-Line. There is also going to be less wind around on Saturday, although it is still going to be breezy in some areas east of I-15 as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph. It is also going to be cool on Saturday as highs are going to be in the 40s in most spots, but in northeastern Montana, highs on Saturday are only going to be in the 30s.
Sunday will feature beautiful weather as we are going to have partly to mostly cloudy skies, dry conditions, just a little breeze (sustained wind speeds between 5 and 20 mph), and warmer temperatures as highs are going to be in the upper 40s and low to mid 50s.
An upper-level ridge is then going to provide us with really nice weather for most of next week. Next week, we are going to have mostly cloudy skies on Monday and partly cloudy skies Tuesday through Thursday. It is also going to be mainly dry and mild next week as highs are going to be in the 50s and low to mid 60s. Monday and Tuesday will feature gusty winds as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 30 mph. There is then going to be little wind on Wednesday and Thursday.
