BILLINGS — You can see towering cumulus clouds over the Beartooth Mountains Wednesday afternoon. That is a sure sign of thunderstorm activity in the area, but it's mostly sunny and 87 degrees in Billings for now.
Around the rest of the state, our current temps are mostly in the 60s, 70s and 80s out west and 80s and 90s in the east.
The thunderstorm outlook for Wednesday shows a Marginal Risk of Severe Storms across most of western Montana, including Billings. To the east, we will see just shower activity.
On Thursday, everything switches: We will see the showers in Montana and a Marginal Risk of Severe Storms in the extreme southeastern corner the state and the rest of the Dakotas.
The Doppler radar shows some thunderstorms already starting to fire up on the backside of the Beartooth Mountains. The big question is will they hold together long enough to make it into the Billings area.
Sometimes, the downsloping winds off the Beartooth Mountains will inhibit rainfall development.
However, the high-resolution forecast model shows some of the showers will hold together to make their way to Billings around 6 p.m. Wednesday.
On Thursday, we could see a few showers roll in by 2 p.m. and then kick on out here that evening. On Friday, we expect to see mostly sunny skies and warmer temperatures across Montana.
We are expecting to cook up to 93 degrees Wednesday, then roll back down to the 60s in the morning then back up to the 70s Thursday afternoon.
We will top out at 78 degrees on Thursday, cook up to 93 on Saturday and then back to the 70s and 80s as we start next week.
BILLINGS FORECAST
TONIGHT: Mostly cloudy with a 30% chance for showers and thunderstorms in the evening and again overnight. West winds 5 to 15 mph. Low 62 degrees.
THURSDAY: Increasing clouds with a 60% chance for showers in the morning and the afternoon. Northwest winds 5 to 15 mph. High 78 degrees.
FRIDAY: Mostly sunny and warmer. Southwest winds 5 to 10 mph. High 85 degrees.
