BILLINGS — Monday tied the record high at the Billings airport, with many of the readings the warmest the region has seen since October. By the weekend, winter weather returns.
The official temperature of the Billings Airport reached 71 on Monday, tying the record for March 18 dating back to 2004. Wind also played a big part in the day's forecast, producing fire weather conditions across the eastern plains.
The good news is the wind will subside for Tuesday and Wednesday. At the same time, temperatures will become cooler each afternoon.
Colder air starts to move in from the northeast corner of Montana, gradually pushing temperatures down each day. High will be in the 50s to mainly low 60s on Tuesday with temperatures slipping to the 50s on Wednesday and 40s and 50s by Thursday.
Overnight temperatures will also get cooler, slipping from the upper 20s and 30s to mainly the 20s by Friday and Saturday. By Sunday and Monday mornings, most of the area will be in the single digits and teens in the morning and 20s for the afternoon highs.
With the cool-down will come an increasing chance of rain, especially by late Wednesday. Rain will switch to snow over the weekend with accumulations likely Saturday and Sunday.
Snow totals are still a question mark this far out, but one to four inches over a widespread area seems reasonable as of Monday. Check back for updates. As of right now, Sunday and Monday appear to have the biggest wintry impacts.
