A HIGH WIND WARNING is in effect for the Rocky Mountain Front and adjacent plains until 8pm Thursday.
A HIGH WIND WARNING is in effect for the Cut Bank area and portions of Cascade County and Judith Basin County from 2am until 8pm Thursday.
We are going to have increasing wind from west to east as we go through tonight and tomorrow morning. Along the Divide, along the Rocky Mountain Front, and between the Rocky Mountain Front and I-15, it is going to be very windy later tonight and tomorrow as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 30 and 55 mph, and wind gusts up to 90 mph are possible along the Divide and the Rocky Mountain Front, while wind gusts up to 80 mph are possible in the adjacent plains out to I-15. East of I-15, we are going to have widespread gusty to strong winds around tomorrow as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 15 and 35 mph in a lot of locations, and wind gusts up to 50 mph are possible, with wind gusts up to 65 mph possible in portions of Cascade and Judith Basin Counties. In the valleys, it is going to be a little breezy later in the day on Thursday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 5 and 20 mph.
Widespread blustery conditions will then continue tomorrow night and Friday morning east of I-15 as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 30 mph, and wind gusts up to 50 mph are possible. Around and west of I-15, it is going to be breezy tomorrow night and Friday morning as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph, and wind gusts up to 40 mph are possible. The wind will then diminish for everyone later on Friday. For tonight and tomorrow, the wind will be coming out of the west or southwest. The wind direction will then change to come out of the north/northwest behind a cold front tomorrow night into Friday.
We are also going to have increasing clouds tonight and partly cloudy to mostly sunny skies (via decreasing clouds) tomorrow. Tonight, lows are going to range from the mid teens to the mid 30s. Tomorrow is then going to be the warmest day that we had had so far this year in a lot of locations as highs are going to be in the 40s and upper 30s, and a couple spots may even reach 50°.
There is then going to be scattered snow around tomorrow night and Friday as an upper-level trough begins to impact our area. In the lower elevations, most spots will receive less than 1.5” of snow, but the lower elevations along Highway 87 between Belt and Lewistown and the lower elevations along I-15 south of Great Falls to north of Butte (excluding the Helena area) can expect 1-4” of snow. In the mountains, 3-8” of snow is possible Thursday night and Friday. We are also going to have mostly cloudy to overcast skies on Friday. It is also going to be colder on Friday as highs are going to be in the upper teens and low to mid 20s.
The coldest temperatures since last winter are then expected this weekend as highs are going to be in the -0s, 0s, and low 10s, and lows are going to be in the -0s, -10s, and the -20s. Prepare now for this upcoming cold weather. There will also be more scattered light snow around on Saturday and a few areas of light snow around on Sunday, mainly in western and southern portions of north-central Montana, as an upper-level trough continues to impact our area. We are also going to have partly to mostly cloudy skies on these two days.
The temperatures are then going to warm back up next week as highs are going to be in the single digits and teens on Monday, and the mid to upper 20s and low 30s on Tuesday and Wednesday. It is also going to be breezy in some areas on these three days as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph. On Monday, we are going to have mostly sunny skies and dry conditions. We are then going to have partly to mostly cloudy skies with some scattered snow around on Tuesday and Wednesday.
