BILLINGS — Mostly sunny skies over Billings, but off in the distance we do see some showers and thunderstorms firing up over the Beartooth Mountains. The big question is, will those storms move into the Billings area?
The general consensus is no. A new ridge of high pressure continues to build into much of south-central Montana and the storms over the Beartooths are mainly some moisture and weak energy sneaking up over the top of the high terrain.
We think most of those thunderstorms will stay anchored to the high terrain and the foothills. The downsloping winds off the mountains will have a tendency to evaporate the storms before they get too far.
In the early afternoon, it's 85 degrees and mostly sunny in Billings. We have a northeast wind at 7 mph, and around the rest of the state, our temperatures are mostly into the 70s and 80s everywhere we look.
However, it won't be too long before some places get into the 90s.
The Doppler radar shows the thunderstorms are already starting to fire up over the Bighorns and the Beartooth Mountains, and they seem to be sticking pretty close to the mountains.
The high-resolution forecast model shows we will see storms move into Meagher County and White Sulfur Springs Wednesday night. On Thursday, a marginal risk of severe thunderstorms will cover most of the central part of Montana and the southeast.
Billings has a 20% chance for thunderstorms on Thursday. So it's safe to say that we will see some of these thunderstorms in our neighborhood.
By Friday, most of that activity moves out of the region, and we will be left with mostly sunny skies again.
Wednesday night, our temps will cool back down to the 50s and 60s across the region. Then on Thursda,y we will get back to the 80s to the upper 90s. Billings could see a high of 95, Forsyth and Broadus could see mid-to upper 90s and some heavy thunderstorms.
In Billings, we will be at 90 degrees at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, then cool back down to the mid-60s in the morning and back up to 86 degrees about 1:30 p.m. Thursday.
We will top out at 95 on Thursday, then roll back into the upper 80s and low 90s Friday through the weekend and into the middle part of next week.
BILLINGS FORECAST
TONIGHT: Mostly clear and mild. Northeast winds 5 to 15 mph. Low 62 degrees.
THURSDAY: Mostly sunny with a 20% chance for showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. South winds 5 to 10 mph. High 95 degrees.
FRIDAY: Mostly sunny and cooler. Northwest winds 5 to 15 mph. High 88 degrees.
