Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS will continue to be visible throughout the entire U.S. where skies are clear for the next couple weeks. The comet will begin to be visible about 45-60 minutes after sunset in the western/southwestern sky. It will be located northeast of Venus and west-southwest of Arcturus, which are the two brighter, stationary objects that you can see in the western sky. It is best viewed with binoculars or a telescope, but it will also be faintly visible with the naked eye.
This evening, the comet will be about one fist above the horizon and it will be visible for a little over an hour. With each successive night, the comet will be about a little bit higher in the sky, it will be dimmer, and it will be visible for about 16 minutes longer.
We are going to have mostly clear skies tonight with areas of haze around (thickest around Helena). It is also going to be cool tonight as lows are going to be in the upper 30s and low to mid 40s in most locations. There is also going to be a breeze around tonight along the Rocky Mountain Front as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph.
For tomorrow, we are going to have partly to mostly sunny skies in north-central Montana with some haze around. In central Montana, we are going to have mainly sunny/hazy skies tomorrow, and the air quality at times may be unhealthy for sensitive groups. It is also going to be warm again tomorrow as highs are going to be in the 70s in most locations.
On Wednesday, we are going to have increasing clouds and decreasing haze throughout the day as a cold front begins to approach our area. A few isolated showers are also possible Wednesday evening. It is also going to be breezy in some areas on Wednesday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph, and the wind is going to get stronger as the day goes on. Wednesday is also going to be our last warm day of the week as highs are going to be in the 70s and upper 60s in most locations.
There are then going to be some scattered rain and mountain snow showers around Wednesday night through Thursday morning as this cold front passes through our area, with isolated rain and mountain snow showers possible Thursday afternoon and evening. We are also going to have widespread gusty winds around Wednesday night and Thursday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 30 mph, and wind gusts over 40 mph are possible. It is also going to be significantly cooler on Thursday as highs are going to be in the 50s and mid to upper 40s in most locations.
On Friday, we are going to have decreasing clouds and mostly dry conditions as Thursday’s disturbance leaves our area. It is also going to be cool and a little breezy on Friday as highs are going to be in the upper 40s and low to mid 50s, and sustained wind speeds are going to be between 5 and 20 mph.
For this weekend, we are going to have pretty nice weather as we are going to have mostly sunny skies, mainly dry conditions, and warming temperatures as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 50s and low to mid 60s on Saturday and the mid to upper 60s and low 70s on Sunday. The one nuisance this weekend is going to be the wind though as gusty winds are expected throughout the weekend as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 30 mph.
We are then going to have partly cloudy skies with a few rain and mountain snow showers around on Monday as another disturbance passes through our area. It is also going to be breezy and cooler on Monday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph, and highs are going to be in the mid to upper 50s and low to mid 60s.
