BILLINGS- Bright sunshine and favorable wind conditions have temperatures jumping up here on Black Friday. That breeze out of the west/southwest has certainly been noticeable here in the afternoon hours, but we expect things to calm down in the evening.
The conditions we have seen today are typical pre-frontal conditions and generally signal that changes are incoming. We will begin to see those changes by late on Friday evening.
A cold front is approaching and will start to interact with Pacific moisture that has been pushed into the state over the last couple of days. These factors will combine to noticeably drop temperatures and create snowfall heading into Saturday.
Temperatures on Saturday will be in the 20s and 30s, about 15 degrees cooler in some places than today.
Snowfall forecast are considerably higher in the western half of the state and at higher elevations. Locations east of Billings will see minimal snow, while locations to the west could see 3-5 inches, with up to 10 inches above 7000 feet.
In Billings, I’m forecasting two to three inches of the white stuff by the time the system pushes out of the state later on Saturday. Travel conditions will deteriorate rapidly Friday night into Saturday, so if you are planning to be on Montana highways in the near future use caution.
Sun will shine again on Sunday with seasonal conditions forecast for much of the upcoming week.
