A HIGH WIND WARNING is in effect for portions of southwestern, central, and north-central Montana until 5pm/11pm Thursday or 12am/4am Friday.
A HIGH WIND WATCH is in effect for portions of Meagher County and the Judith Gap area from 8am/11am Thursday until 4am/5am Friday.
We are going to have widespread gusty to strong winds around tonight and tomorrow as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 35 mph, and widespread wind gusts over 40 mph are expected, with some locations seeing wind gusts over 60 mph at times. This is also going to be a warmer wind as it is going to be coming out of the south or southwest in most locations.
For tonight, we are going to have partly cloudy skies and mild temperatures as lows are going to be in the 30s in most locations. We are then going to have partly cloudy to mostly sunny skies and mild temperatures tomorrow as highs are going to range from the mid 40s to the low 60s. Most locations are also going to be dry tonight and during the daylight hours tomorrow, but there will be some snow around in the Glacier area.
A cold front is then going to move eastward through our area tomorrow evening and tomorrow night. There is going to be some precipitation along and behind this cold front, but this precipitation will break apart before it reaches the eastern part of the state. Precipitation may initially start out as rain, but it will quickly transition over to snow. Some of this precipitation may also be heavy at times, which means low visibility and quickly deteriorating road conditions are possible. In the lower elevations, a quick coating to an inch or two of snow accumulation is possible in locations that do see some of this snow. Behind the main line of precipitation, there will be some light snow around, generally in central Montana.
The wind is also going to shift direction behind the front to come out of the west rather than the south/southwest. The wind will also gradually diminish behind the front. We are also going to have partly to mostly cloudy skies tomorrow night and lows will be in the mid to upper 20s and low to mid 30s in most locations.
There are then going to be scattered snow showers around Helena on Friday, and there are going to be a few scattered snow and rain showers around in north-central Montana on Friday as there is going to be a lot of instability behind this front. It is also going to be breezy and cooler on Friday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph, and highs are going to be in the mid to upper 30s and low to mid 40s.
Widespread snow is then likely on Saturday as a storm system passes through our area. A little rain may also mix in with this snow initially in eastern portions of north-central Montana. Right now, it looks like most lower elevation locations will receive between a coating and 5 inches of snow by Sunday morning, with higher amounts possible in the mountains. There are also going to be some additional snow showers around on Sunday. We are also going to have mostly cloudy skies this weekend.
The temperatures are also going to cool down some more this weekend as highs are going to range from the mid 20s to the mid 40s on Saturday and highs are going to be in the mid to upper teens and low to mid 20s on Sunday. There is also going to be a bit of a breeze around in some areas on Saturday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph.
There are then going to be some more scattered snow showers around on Monday and Tuesday, especially in the mountains, as a couple disturbances pass through our area. We are also going to have partly to mostly cloudy skies on these two days. The temperatures are also going to warm back up some over these two days as highs are going to range from the upper teens to the mid 30s on Monday, and highs are going to be in the mid to upper 20s and low to mid 30s on Tuesday. There is also going to be a breeze around in some areas on these two days as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph.
Partly cloudy skies and mostly dry conditions are then expected on Wednesday. It is also going to be cool on Wednesday as highs are going to be in the 30s and upper 20s in most locations. There is also going to be a little breeze around on Wednesday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 5 and 20 mph.
