292
FXUS65 KBYZ 270853
AFDBYZ
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT
253 AM MDT FRI MAR 27 2026
KEY MESSAGES
- TURNING WARMER AND DRIER INTO THE WEEKEND, WITH POTENTIAL FOR BREEZY
CONDITIONS OVER THE WESTERN FOOTHILLS LATE IN THE WEEKEND.
- CONDITIONS BECOME MORE UNSETTLED NEXT WEEK. UNCERTAINTY REMAINS,
MONITOR THE FORECAST.
UPDATE
DRY AND MOSTLY CLEAR CONDITIONS ALONG WITH LIGHT WINDS HAVE
ALLOWED TEMPS TO RADIATE DOWN TO THE MID TEENS TO MID 20S AS OF
0845Z, AND HAVE ADJUSTED EARLY MORNING TEMPS DOWN ACCORDINGLY. NO
FOG SHOWING UP ON SATELLITE YET. CURRENT DEWPT SPREADS REMAIN
REASONABLY HIGH (3-6F) MOST PLACES SO THE RISK OF FOG SEEMS TO BE
DECREASING, BUT FEEL LIKE LOCALIZED VALLEY FOG IS STILL A
POSSIBILITY BETWEEN 10-14Z. THIS WILL BE SOMETHING TO MONITOR.
OTHERWISE, TODAY'S WEATHER WILL BE QUIET WITH HIGHS INTO THE 50S
TO AROUND 60F.
AFTER A WARM WEEKEND, LATEST MODELS ARE IN A BIT MORE AGREEMENT
WITH A DAYTIME FRONTAL PASSAGE ON MONDAY. AN EARLIER FROPA WOULD
DECREASE THE GRASS FIRE CONCERNS BUT OBVIOUSLY THIS WILL NEED TO
BE WATCHED AS A FEW HOURS CAN MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE. EXPECT THE
FRONT TO BRING A SHIFT TO GUSTY NW-N AND A GOOD CHANCE (40-60%) OF
RAIN/SNOW SHOWERS.
JKL
DISCUSSION
THROUGH THURSDAY...
ENSEMBLES REMAIN IN GOOD AGREEMENT THROUGH THE WEEKEND IN WARMER
AND DRIER CONDITIONS AS UPPER RIDGING BUILDS OVER THE REGION.
WINDS LOOK TO REMAIN LIGHT OVERALL. HIGHS ARE FORECAST TO RANGE
FROM THE UPPER 40S TO 50S TODAY, TO THE 60S TO LOWER 70S SATURDAY.
A MAINLY DRY BACKDOOR COLD FRONT WILL KNOCK TEMPERATURES BACK A
FEW DEGREES ON SUNDAY AND BRING IN NORTHEASTERLY WINDS.
TEMPERATURES WILL RANGE FROM THE 60S TO NEAR 70 DEGREES SUNDAY, TO
THE 60S TO LOWER 70S MONDAY. THERE IS POTENTIAL FOR SOME
INCREASED WESTERLY WINDS ALONG THE WESTERN FOOTHILLS MONDAY AS MID
LEVEL WINDS INCREASE AHEAD OF LOWERING HEIGHTS TO THE WEST. THERE
IS CURRENTLY A MODERATE CHANCE FOR LOCATIONS ALONG THE WESTERN
FOOTHILLS TO SEE 50 MPH WIND GUSTS MONDAY. LATEST GUIDANCE PROGS
EITHER A FRONT AND PRECIPITATION CHANCES TO MOVE THROUGH THE
REGION MONDAY/TUESDAY, OR RIDGING REMAINING OVER THE AREA IN SOME
FASHION. THIS IN TURN IS CAUSING A LOT OF SPREAD IN TEMPERATURE,
WIND POTENTIAL AND PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS.
LOOKING AHEAD TO THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK, THERE IS GOOD CONSENSUS
IN THE ENSEMBLES IN LARGE SCALE TROUGHING AND LOWER HEIGHTS
MOVING OVER THE REGION (NOTED IN CLUSTER ANALYSIS). WHILE THE
DETAILS REMAIN UNCERTAIN, UNSETTLED CONDITIONS WITH COOLER
TEMPERATURES AND MODERATE CHANCES FOR PRECIPITATION ARE CURRENTLY
FORECAST. TEMPERATURES LOOK TO RANGE FROM THE 40S TO LOWER 50S,
WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR COOLER TEMPERATURES. STP
AVIATION
VFR WILL PREVAIL OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS UNDER MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES.
THERE IS A LOW RISK (<15%) OF LOCALIZED VALLEY FOG IN SOUTHEAST
MT EARLY THIS MORNING THRU ~15Z. JKL
PRELIMINARY POINT TEMP/POPS
TDY SAT SUN MON TUE WED THU
-------------------------------------------------------
BIL 059 038/074 039/070 042/071 036/050 030/052 034/057
0/U 00/B 00/B 14/W 55/W 33/W 35/W
LVM 058 035/069 040/068 045/065 035/050 028/049 034/052
0/U 00/B 00/B 15/W 55/W 33/W 56/W
HDN 059 031/074 035/071 038/073 034/051 028/053 033/060
0/U 00/B 00/B 13/W 55/W 33/W 35/W
MLS 054 031/066 036/064 038/069 034/047 026/047 030/055
0/U 00/B 00/B 12/W 33/W 32/W 23/W
4BQ 054 035/069 038/069 040/073 036/049 028/049 032/057
0/U 00/U 00/B 01/B 33/W 32/W 23/W
BHK 049 031/066 033/062 038/067 031/044 022/044 028/052
0/U 00/B 00/B 11/B 22/W 22/J 23/W
SHR 055 030/070 034/071 040/073 034/051 027/051 030/058
0/U 00/B 00/B 12/W 45/W 43/W 25/W
BYZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
MT...NONE.
WY...NONE.
WEATHER.GOV/BILLINGS
CLICK HERE TO GO TO PREVIOUS BULLETINS.
Main Text Page