BILLINGS- Partly cloudy skies and warmer temperatures are on tap for Billings this Thursday.
The early afternoon temperatures in the Billings area have already warmed up into the mid-to-upper 50s.
This is common for much of south-central and eastern Montana, but we still see a few 60s along the Hi-Line as of 2 p.m. Thursday.
High pressure moving in from the west should give us a break from the rainfall today in the Billings area. It has already begun to clear up the skies and slowly warm up the temps today.
The Doppler radar shows a new line of rain showers dropping down from Canada into the Hi-Line of Montana.
So far these are only light showers, just a minor weather disturbance moving in ahead of a cold front. The showers are probably going to dry up before they get to the Billings area.
The next chance for rain in Billings will be Friday night, when a new cold front drops down from Canada and moves into the southeast corner of the state.
As the front passes, it might kick up enough instability to create minor rain showers in south-central Montana. The cold front is forecast to move into the Black Hills of South Dakota.
Once this weather system moves into Wyoming and South Dakota, it will pull warmer temperatures from western Montana across the state.
This will have the effect of making the trailing edge of this cold front turn into a warm front as the cool air drains out of the region.
So it looks like warmer temperatures will be arriving just in time for this big weekend, one that includes the Montana Women’s Run and Mother’s Day.
BILLINGS FORECAST
TONIGHT: Mostly clear and mild. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph this evening shifting to the Southwest overnight. Low 37 degrees.
FRIDAY: Mostly sunny and warmer. There is a 20% chance for rain Friday night. West winds 10 to 20 mph. High 68 degrees.
SATURDAY: Mostly sunny and warmer still. Northwest winds 10 to 20 mph high 70 degrees.
