BILLINGS — After a day with record high temperatures, we are going to feel the change to cold and snow.
Behind a cold front, rain will switch to snow showers overnight through Wednesday morning. Areas in the mountains and foothills west of Billings will see the impacts first, along with the Bighorn Mountains of southern Montana and northern Wyoming.
Snow totals in the mountain foothill should range 2 to 6 inches but lighter snow is expected in the lower elevations. With a very warm ground, a lot of snow will initially melt with snow favoring grassy areas and higher elevations.
Temperatures will stay in the 20s to 30s early Wednesday with mainly the 30s to about 40 for the highs Wednesday afternoon. As temperatures drop later Wednesday, some areas are likely to refreeze, causing travel concerns Wednesday evening.
Thursday will be a relatively quiet day, but expect periods of wind from Livingston to as far east as Billings. Highs will be mainly in the 30s.
Another round of snow moves in Friday through Saturday with higher accumulations expected. Very cold air follows, with lows in the single digits above and below zero by Saturday morning and only the single digits to teens Saturday afternoon. Much colder than average temperatures continue well into next week.
Billings forecast:
Tuesday night… Increasing clouds with a slight chance of showers especially after midnight. A low at around 33.
Wednesday and Wednesday night… Morning snow tapering off in the afternoon with light accumulations. Temperatures hold steady in the mid to lower 30s for the highs and drop to the teens to low 20s for the lows.
Thursday… Partly to mostly cloudy with high temperatures close to 40. Winds will be gusty at times up to 40 mph.
