BILLINGS- Friday afternoon in Billings is starting to turn out very much like Thursday, with mostly sunny skies and the threat of thunderstorms off in the distance.
In Billings, at 1:30 p.m., the temperature was already 87 degrees with a mostly sunny sky.
Around the rest of the state, the temps were a little cooler out west with upper 70s to low 80s. Back here in the east, the temperatures are already getting into the mid-to-upper 80s.
The storm prediction center’s thunderstorm outlook for Friday does show a very similar pattern across south-central Montana to what we had Thursday.
There is a marginal risk of severe storms across south-central Montana all the way to the eastern edge of the state, with isolated thunderstorms farther to the north and west.
The Doppler radar in the early afternoon is already showing one band of thunderstorms in Garfield County moving due east into Dawson County, producing heavy thunderstorms and even small hail.
Meanwhile to the southwest of Billings, we are seeing some thunderstorms already starting to fire up north of Cody and in the Absaroka and Beartooth Mountains.
This is where our story will begin Friday afternoon.
It will end in the high-resolution forecast model showing thunderstorms beginning to multiply across south-central Montana and moving toward Billings by Friday evening.
Looks like another batch of thundershowers will move in Saturday afternoon and evening, as temperatures continue to soar into the 90s.
Our temps will continue to flirt with the 90s Friday and cool back down to the 60s in the evening and back to the upper 80s by Saturday afternoon.
We will top out in the low 90s over the weekend, then drop to the mid-80s on Monday, then work our way back to the 90s by the end of next week.
BILLINGS FORECAST
TONIGHT: Turning cloudy with a 30% chance for showers and thunderstorms this evening, then clearing overnight. West winds 5 to 15 mph. Low 63 degrees.
SATURDAY: Mostly sunny with a 20% chance for afternoon thunderstorm. South winds 5 to 15 mph. High 92 degrees.
SUNDAY: Mostly sunny with a 30% chance for showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. Southwest winds 5 to 10 mph. High 92 degrees.
