BILLINGS — It is a breezy Tuesday, and we can see a few scattered snow showers marching their way around the Billings area, and the wind is helping to move them along.
Tuesday afternoon, it was 35 degrees and mostly cloudy in Billings with a northwest wind at 22 gusting to 33 mph.
Around the rest of the state, temps were mostly in the 20s and 30s, although we were into the 40s at Miles City and Glendive at 3 p.m.
We still have a high wind warning until 6 a.m.Wednesday for winds gusting 55 to 65 mph across most of eastern Montana, including Billings.
And here's why it's so windy: you can see a new cold front has taken the scattered rain and snow showers and pushed them across the Billings area into the southeastern corner of the state.
The high-resolution forecast model shows those rain and snow showers we had Tuesday may be the only chance we will have for a white Christmas.
Because, as you see, Tuesday night there is going to be a big hole in the snow around the Billings area. After that, the whole thing moves away on Wednesday morning and by the afternoon the sun comes back out.
We expect partly to mostly sunny skies the rest of the week until Friday afternoon. Then we'll just see cloudy skies.
We will be at 31 degrees at 7 p.m., then cool back down to 21 in the morning, then back up to 35 degrees by 3 p.m. Wednesday.
We will top out at 36 on Wednesday, jump up into the 40s on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and roll back down into the 30s on Sunday and Monday of next week.
BILLINGS FORECAST
TONIGHT: Mostly cloudy with a 20% chance for isolated evening snow showers, windy and colder. Northwest winds what he 5 to 40 mph with gusts to 55 mph. Low 20 degrees.
WEDNESDAY: Mostly sunny and colder. West winds 15 to 25 mph. High 36 degrees.
THURSDAY: Mostly sunny, windy and warmer. West winds 15 to 30 mph. High 46 degrees.
