BILLINGS – Mostly cloudy skies and light rain is moving into the Billings area this Thursday afternoon.
The temperature in Billings continues to remain cool, only into the 60s, but will eventually start jumping into the upper 70s to low 80s by the end of the day.
The reason for the rain is a low-pressure cell that had been tracking along the state line with Wyoming all night and into Thursday afternoon.
The wrap around moisture around that low is now tracking into the central part of Yellowstone County, and that’s where all the rain is coming from.
Not only rain, but that low has got to be pulling in some more smoke from the northwest fires across southern Montana and northern Wyoming.
The high-\nesolution computer model shows that low-pressure cell will continue to track eastward into South Dakota by 6 p.m. Thursday, taking most of the rain with it.
We would not be surprised to see it also draw in some of the smoke around that low-pressure cell.
Thursday evening, the low-pressure cell will continue to track into the Eastern Dakotas which will allow a new cold front to start moving into Northwest Montana by 6 a.m. Friday.
By 6 p.m. Friday, that cold front will be right on our front door and will probably be producing some rain showers that will move through Billings and the rest of south-central Montana.
Once the low moves out of the way, it will allow the sun to come back out later Thursday afternoon.
This could cause the temperatures to rise up to near 80 degrees sometime after 6 p.m.
BILLINGS FORECAST
TONIGHT: Mostly clear and mild. West winds 10 to 20 mph. Low 56 degrees.
FRIDAY: Sunny and getting warmer. Southwest winds 5 to 15 mph. High 87 degrees.
SATURDAY: Mostly sunny and a little bit cooler. West winds 5 to 10 mph in the morning becoming northerly in the afternoon. High 77 degrees.
