BILLINGS- It is a rainy Monday in Billings. So far, we have measured 0.2 inches of rain, and we are probably going to see more before the day is done.
Around the rest of the state, temperatures are mostly to the 40s and 50s, although it’s 60 degree at Miles City and Glendive.
On the threat board, the areas in blue are Winter Storm Watches. The ones closest to Billings are the ones in the Beartooths.
There we could see 6 to 10 inches of snow in the lower elevations and up to two feet in the higher elevations. In the Bighorn Mountains, we see as much is 15 inches of snow.
In the southeast corner of the state, 6 to 12 inches of snow are possible in Carter and Powder River counties.
The Doppler radar shows the rest of the day we are looking for rain showers moving in from Missoula, Bozeman all the way to the Billings area and down to Broadus and Sheridan.
The computer models suggest that pattern will be common for the next couple of days as we continue to see moisture stream in from the Pacific Ocean.
It will move into west-central Montana by Missoula and exit the state by Broadus.
The high resolution model bears this out through Tuesday evening. However, by midnight Tuesday until 6 a.m. Wednesday, the rain will change to snow.
That snow will stick around Wednesday morning and in the Billings area, we could see as much is 1 to 2 inches of snow.
If it all comes down as snow in Sheridan, they could get up to 20 inches of snow. If it mixes with rain, we will get something less.
This will be the very wet heavy type of snow that will not stick around for a long. In fact, our temperature will soon be back up above freezing later on Wednesday and keep climbing until Sunday we top out at 63.
BILLINGS FORECAST
TONIGHT: Mostly cloudy with a 70% chance for rain showers in the evening and overnight. East winds 5 to 10 mph. Low 42 degrees.
TUESDAY: Mostly cloudy with a 70% chance of numerous rain showers off and on throughout the day. Northeast winds 5 to 15 mph. High 54 degrees.
WEDNESDAY: mostly cloudy with a 90% chance for rain and snow in the morning and again in the afternoon. Snow accumulations of possibly 1 to 2 inches. North winds 10 to 20 mph. High 46 degrees.
