BILLINGS — The rain and snow end, but the cold air sticks around.
Sheridan, Wyoming recorded a record 1.06 inches of rainfall Tuesday, eclipsing the September 7 daily record of 0.98 inches set in 2001. The Billings airport recorded 0.54 inches of rainfall through midnight. Near Red Lodge, 3.5 inches of snow was reported, with 5 inches near Nye and 6 inches around McLeod.
Snow showers remain in the mountains through the morning hours, favoring the Big Horns of southern Montana and northern Wyoming. A gradual warming and drying trend will follow through the remainder of the week.
Sunny to mostly sunny Tuesday afternoon with the highs mainly in the upper 40s to mid 50s. Areas in the mountain foothills more impacted with accumulating snow (like the Red Lodge foothills) may not make it out of the 30s.
Cold overnight lows will have us covering flower and vegetable gardens reaching the 20s to low 30s early Wednesday morning.
Temperatures will hit the upper 50s and 60s on Wednesday and continue to gradually warm to the 80s by the weekend. Some 90s are possible early next week.
Billings forecast:
Tuesday… Mostly sunny with a high near 52. Light northerly breeze.
Tuesday night… Clear with a low around 32, close to the record of 31° for September 9.
Wednesday… Sunny with a high of about 65. Southwest breeze 5 to 15 mph.
