BILLINGS- We have another beautiful blue sky in Billings Wednesday. The only issue is, as soon as you go outside you are hit in the face of the screaming wind at 38 mph, gusting to 52 mph.
Not only in Billings, but all of south-central Montana has been receiving strong gusty winds ranging from the 40s to the low 50 mile-per-hour range.
In fact, we still have a high wind warning until 5 p.m. for parts of south-central Montana for winds gusting 50 to 60 mph, and that does include Billings.
Farther north on the front range of the Rockies, we have winds gusting to 65 mph until 5 p.m.
The Doppler radar and satellite imagery shows a few scattered snow flurries up in the northwest and a couple sprinkles in southeastern Montana.
We also show the jet stream winds across the region, and those winds are mixing down to the surface.
That combined with high pressure moving in from the southwest is creating strong gusty winds in the south-central part of the state Wednesday.
However, mostly sunny skies are expected to rule throughout the rest of the day and into Thursday.
By Friday, a new cold front starts moving in from the northwest, and it could bring scattered snow to the Beartooths on Friday morning and scattered light rain to the plains.
Temperatures will stay in the upper 40s on Thursday and Friday, but drop down into the low 40s over the weekend.
We can even see the temperature drop into the 30s on Christmas Day with a chance of snow that morning.
BILLINGS FORECAST
TONIGHT: Mostly clear, breezy and colder. West winds 15 to 25 mph with gusts to 40 mph. Low 29 degrees.
THURSDAY: Mostly sunny, not as windy, and mild. Southwest winds 10 to 20 mph. High 49 degrees.
FRIDAY: Partly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of rain and snow in the morning and rain in the afternoon. Southwest winds 10-20 mph. High 48 degrees.
