A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH is in effect for southeastern Montana until 7pm Thursday and for northeastern Montana and western North Dakota until 10pm Thursday.
A FLASH FLOOD WATCH is in effect for the Canyon Ferry area as well as the Big Belt, Bridger, and Castle mountains until 12am Friday.
A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect for a lot of the mountains in western and southwestern Montana above 6500 feet until 6am/12pm Friday.
A LAKE WIND ADVISORY is in effect for Fort Peck Lake from 4am until 6pm Friday.
Widespread showers are expected this evening and tonight in western and central Montana, with a more soaking rain around during the second half of the night in north-central Montana, as a storm system continues to impact our area. There are also going to be scattered showers/thunderstorms around this evening and tonight in eastern Montana, and a few of these thunderstorms may be severe with damaging winds (up to 85 mph) and/or large hail (1+” in diameter). A tornado is also possible.
For tomorrow, there are going to be scattered showers around during the morning and early afternoon, but these showers will gradually taper off as the day goes on as this storm system leaves our area. The cloud cover is also going to decrease from west to east as we go through tomorrow, so overcast skies during the morning will give way to mostly sunny skies for the evening.
In north-central Montana, up to .5” of additional precipitation is possible through tomorrow evening, with isolated higher amounts possible. Around Helena, up to .25” of additional precipitation is possible through tomorrow evening, with isolated higher amounts possible, especially north of Helena. There is also going to be some snow around in the mountains tonight and tomorrow morning, and light snow accumulations are possible above 6500 feet.
We are also going to have below average temperatures again tomorrow, although it will be warmer than it was today as highs are going to be in the 60s in most locations. It is also going to be breezy tomorrow, especially in locations east of I-15, as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph.
Beautiful weather is then expected this weekend as we are going to have partly cloudy skies and mainly dry conditions. It is also going to be warmer this weekend than it is going to be tomorrow as highs are going to be in the 70s on Saturday and highs are going to range from the mid 60s to the mid 80s on Sunday. Gusty winds are also expected on Saturday along the Rocky Mountain Front and in Glacier County as gusts up to 40 mph are possible, and it will be a bit breezy in some other areas on Saturday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph.
On Monday, we are going to have mostly cloudy skies with a few scattered showers around, generally around Helena and in the mountains, as a disturbance passes through our area. We are also going to have a wide range of temperatures again on Monday as highs are going to range from the upper 60s to the mid 80s, with the warmest temperatures in northeastern Montana.
There are then going to be widespread showers and a few thunderstorms around on Tuesday and Wednesday as another storm system passes through our area. Scattered showers are then expected on Thursday, especially during the morning, as this storm system leaves our area. We are also going to have mostly cloudy to overcast skies on Tuesday and Wednesday, and we are going to have partly cloudy skies on Thursday.
On Tuesday, we are going to have a wide range of temperatures as highs are going to range from the low 60s to the low 80s, with the warmest temperatures in northeastern Montana. It is then going to be cool on Wednesday and Thursday as highs are going to be in the 60s and upper 50s. Breezy conditions are also expected on Wednesday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph.
