BILLINGS — After seeing record warmth in spots on Thursday, some areas will be waking up to rain and snow Friday morning. This will clear out and dry conditions will come into play for most of the day. There will be some periods of sunshine, too. Temperatures will be cooler behind a cold front but still above average with highs in the mainly in the 50s and 60s.
Chances of precipitation return to the forecast by late Friday afternoon. This will start off as rain in the lower elevations then turn to a rain/snow mix for some areas overnight into Saturday morning. The mountains are expected to get mostly snow above 6000 feet. In fact, the Beartooths, Absarokas, Crazies, and Bighorns could pick up a foot of snow through Monday morning.
A chance of rain will persist throughout Saturday in the lower elevations while area mountains and foothills will get mainly snow. Precipitation is expected to be all snow across the area Saturday night into Sunday with a couple of inches of accumulation possible across much of the area, but models are suggesting that southeast MT could possibly get up to 6" or more. Not a definite thing, but potential is there. Much of the accumulation will be on grassy areas, but roads could get slushy and slick.
In terms of total moisture from rain and snow, much of the area could pick up over .25" with over .50" possible in southeast MT and northeast WY.
We'll get a brief break from precipitation Monday morning through early afternoon before our next active weather pattern brings rain late Monday through Wednesday.
Daytime highs will be in the 30s and 40s on Saturday, mainly 30s on Sunday then 40s and 50s on Monday and through the middle of next week.
Nighttime lows will be mainly in the 20s and 30s through the middle of next week.
Miller Robson
Q2 Morning Meteorologist
miller.robson@ktvq.com
