A High Wind Warning is in effect for Cascade County, Chouteau County, Glacier County, Judith Basin County, northwestern Lewis and Clark County, Pondera County, western Teton County, and Toole County until 5pm Wednesday. Sustained wind speeds are going to be between 30 and 50 mph, and wind gusts up to 65 mph are possible in the plains, while wind gusts up to 75+ mph are possible along the Rocky Mountain Front.
Widespread windy conditions are expected in north-central Montana through early Wednesday evening. In the plains, sustained wind speeds are going to be between 15 and 35 mph, and wind gusts over 50 mph are going to be possible at times. Along and just east of the Rocky Mountain Front, sustained wind speeds are going to be between 30 and 50 mph, and wind gusts over 75 mph are going to be possible at times. The wind is then going to weaken considerably late tomorrow evening and tomorrow night, although it will continue to be breezy in some locations, especially those along the Rocky Mountain Front, as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph. It is then going to be breezy in spots on Thursday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph.
We are also going to continue to have mild temperatures through Thursday. For tonight and tomorrow night, lows are going to be in the 20s and 30s in most locations. For tomorrow and Thursday, highs are generally going to be in the mid to upper 30s and low to mid 40s, but some locations will likely top out in the upper 40s and low 50s. Over the next couple of days, the warmest temperatures are going to be where the chinook wind is the strongest (along the Rocky Mountain Front and in the plains), while the coldest temperatures are going to be where we have the least wind (in the valleys, including Helena).
For tonight, tomorrow, and tomorrow night, we are going to have partly to mostly cloudy skies with a few valley rain and mountain snow/rain showers around. Any precipitation that we see is generally going to be light in nature and will not amount to much. We are then going to have partly to mostly cloudy skies with a couple isolated rain and snow showers around during the daylight hours on Thursday.
There are then going to be some scattered rain and snow showers around Thursday evening and Thursday night as a weak cold front passes through our area. We are then going to have decreasing clouds with a few isolated AM snow showers around on Friday. Light snow accumulations are also possible in locations that see some of this snow. It is also going to be colder on Friday than it is going to be over the next couple of days as highs are going to be in the 30s and low 40s in most locations. Breezy conditions are also expected Thursday night with the passage of this weak cold front as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph.
For this weekend, we are going to have mostly cloudy skies with a slight chance of mountain rain/snow showers on Saturday, and partly cloudy to mostly sunny skies and dry conditions on Sunday. We are then going to have partly to mostly cloudy skies and dry conditions on Monday. It is also going to be breezy/windy on Saturday and Monday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 30 mph, and wind gusts over 40 mph are going to be possible at times. On Sunday, there is going to be a little bit of a breeze around as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 5 and 20 mph. We are also going to have above average temperatures on these three days as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 30s and low to mid 40s in most locations.
We are then going to have a chance to see a few snow and rain showers on Tuesday as a disturbance begins to approach our area. It is also going to be a little bit colder on Tuesday than it is going to be on Monday as highs are going to be in the 30s in most locations.
