BILLINGS — Dangerously strong winds highlight the weather.
Very strong westerly winds will develop into the Western foothills around Livingston/Nye through Tuesday with gusts in excess of 80 mph possible Tuesday night through Wednesday. Gusts of 50 to 70 mph possible in the Eastern plains Wednesday over widespread area of Eastern Montana northern Wyoming.
Expect hazardous travel for high profile vehicles near mountain foothills, with the possibility of power outages from down tree limbs. Wildfire risk will also be higher with our recent dry conditions and the strong winds. This could also cause dust storms in Southeast Montana.
Mountain waves could develop, causing strong winds usually protected areas like Red Lodge and Sheridan, Wyoming.
Some mountain snow in a few showers will accompany a cold front moving through Wednesday. The mountains could see a few inches of accumulation with a rain/snow mix along the foothills. Winds will tend to dry out the fast-moving system and keep accumulations low.
Tuesday afternoon highs will be mainly into the mid-40s to mid 50s, with some 50s to near 60 possible Wednesday ahead of the front. Mild overnight lows will stay in the 20s and 30s.
Winds will still be gusty Thursday as a strong upper-level jet slides across the region, but back off a bit from Wednesday’s strongest gust.
Both the winds and temperatures begin to back off Friday, but still expect a breezy day. Quieter weather is expected for the weekend with above normal temperatures.
Billings forecast:
Tuesday… Partly cloudy with increasing afternoon clouds. A high near 51. Southwest wind 15 to 25 mph.
Tuesday night… Mostly cloudy with a low of about 40. Westerly wind 15 to 25 mph with stronger gusts.
Wednesday… Partly sunny with a high close to 56. Winds could gust his high as 60 mph.
