BILLINGS — On Friday afternoon in the Big Sky, the temperatures are really soaring. Already, Billings has warmed up to 66 degrees in the early afternoon, and our winds are out of the southwest, gusting to 35 mph.
Around the rest of the state, we are only at 36 degrees in Missoula at 1 p.m. It’s 47 at Kalispell. But then we have 60s just about everywhere else in the state.
Part of the reason we are so warm is the strong downsloping winds off the mountains, ranging anywhere from 29 mph at Dillon to 59 mph at Cut Bank.
Because of that, the National Weather Service has issued a number of wind warnings and advisories. We have a High Wind Warning for the Rocky Mountain front to north-central Montana until midnight for 60 to 80 mile-per-hour winds.
We also have a Wind Advisory near Helena and Missoula for winds gusting to 45 mph until 7 p.m. Plus a Wind Advisory for the Beartooth foothills until 10 p.m. for 60 mile-per-hour winds.
Plus, we have a High Wind Warning for the Cody foothills until midnight for 60 mile-per-hour winds.
The Doppler radar is already showing scattered rain and snow showers moving into Missoula to Glacier National Park. That is our new cold front that's moving in Friday night.
However, out in front of that cold front, we have a new warm front that's sweeping across the rest of the state, and that's why we are so warm Friday.
That warm front gives way to a cold front Friday night, and we will cool back down across Montana.
Then another cold front moves in on Saturday. And this should roll the temps back into the low 50s for Billings.
It will be 62 degrees at 5:30 p.m. Friday, cooling back down to the 40s the morning then back up to 49 degrees by 12:30 p.m. Saturday.
We will top out at 50 degrees on Saturday, then bounce back up into the 60s as we head into the rest of next week.
BILLINGS FORECAST
TONIGHT: Partly cloudy, breezy and mild. West winds 15 to 25 mph. Low 37 degrees.
SATURDAY: Sunny and cooler. West winds 10 to 20 mph. High 50 degrees.
SUNDAY: Sunny and warmer. Southwest winds 10 to 20 mph. High 58 degrees.
