820
FXUS65 KBYZ 190636
AFDBYZ
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT
1236 AM MDT SUN APR 19 2026
KEY MESSAGES
- WARM AND DRY CONDITIONS LIKELY THROUGH TUESDAY. EXPECT SOME
RISES ON STREAMS AND STREAMS DUE TO MOUNTAIN SNOWMELT. USE
CAUTION WITH ANY BURNING.
- STRONG WEATHER SYSTEM WILL BRING COOLER, WETTER, AND WINDIER
CONDITIONS TO THE REGION LATE WEDNESDAY INTO THE SECOND HALF OF
THE WEEK.
DISCUSSION
THROUGH SATURDAY...
THE BUILDING RIGE OVER WESTERN NORTH AMERICA WILL CONTINUE TO
DOMINATE THOUGH THE FIRST PART OF THIS WEEK. RISING HEIGHTS WILL
ALLOW FOR TEMPERATURES TO CONTINUE TO RISE EACH DAY THROUGH
TUESDAY. TEMPERATURES ON SATURDAY WERE ROUGHLY AS FORECAST,
HOWEVER, HUMIDITY WAS NOTABLY LOWER THAN EXPECTED. THE LOWER
HUMIDITY WILL ALLOW FOR WIDER TEMPERATURE FLUCTUATIONS WHICH COULD
AID IN TEMPERATURES REACHING MUCH ABOVE AVERAGE OVER THE NEXT FEW
DAYS. HIGH 60S AND LOW 70S ARE FORECAST AREA-WIDE TODAY FOLLOWED
BY 80S MONDAY AND TUESDAY. THE HIGHER PERCENTILES OF ENSEMBLES
ACTUALLY GIVE SOME LOCATIONS, INCLUDING BILLINGS, HIGHS
APPROACHING 90F ON TUESDAY. THESE WARM AND DRY CONDITIONS WILL
THANKFULLY NOT BE ACCOMPANIED BY ANY STRONG SYNOPTIC WINDS WHICH
SHOULD KEEP GRASSFIRE CONCERNS MINIMAL. THAT BEING SAID, STILL USE
EXTRA CAUTION WITH ANY BURNING ACTIVITIES DURING THIS TIMEFRAME.
WITH THESE WARM TEMPERATURES BOTH DURING THE DAY AND AT NIGHT;
SNOWMELT IS EXPECTED UP TO ROUGHLY 9 KFT IN ALL THE AREA
MOUNTAINS. WHILE NO FLOODING IS EXPECTED, THERE WILL LIKELY BE
RISES ON MANY OF THE CREEKS AND STREAMS IN THE FOOTHILLS REGIONS.
TOWARDS THE MIDDLE AND END OF THERE WEEK A CUTOFF LOW / HIGH
AMPLITUDE TROUGH IS FORECAST TO MOVE INTO THE INTERMOUNTAIN WEST.
THERE IS STILL A TON OF DISCREPANCIES BETWEEN MODELS AND EVEN
BETWEEN MODEL RUNS. SOME RUNS BRING IN A NEGATIVELY TILTED UPPER
LEVEL ROUGH WHICH ALLOWS US TO TAP INTO MOISTURE FROM THE GULF AND
PUT THE CWA IN GOOD DIFFLUENCE ALOFT WHICH COULD BE A SETUP FOR
STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ON WEDNESDAY. OTHER RUNS KEEP THE TROUGH
ORIENTED MORE MERIDIONAL WHICH WOULD STILL GIVE GOOD PRECIP
CHANCES TO THE REGION, BUT MINIMAL THUNDERSTORM THREAT. IN TERMS
OF THE SYSTEM EXITING THE REGION THERE IS ALSO A TON OF
DISCREPANCIES. SOME MODEL RUNS PUSH THE FEATURE OUT OF THE AREA BY
THE WEEKEND WHILE OTHERS SETUP A BLOCKING PATTERN AND KEEP THE
UPPER LEVEL LOW OVER THE PRAIRIE PROVINCES THROUGH NEXT WEEKEND
GIVING EASTERN MT REPEATED CHANCES OF PRECIPITATION; INCLUDING
CHANCES FOR ACCUMULATING SNOW. IN SHORT, IT IS LOOKING
INCREASINGLY LIKELY THAT AN IMPACTFUL SYSTEM IS IN STORE FOR THE
REGION MID TO LATE WEEK BUT WHAT IMPACTS AND TIMING REMAIN LARGE
QUESTIONS.
THERE IS HIGHER CONFIDENCE IN TEMPERATURES COOLING OFF
CONSIDERABLY INTO THE WEEKEND THOUGH. WHILE BILLINGS HAS A 30% CHANCE
OF SEEING A HIGH OF 90F ON TUESDAY, THEY HAVE A 70% CHANCE OF
SEEING A HIGH BELOW 50F ON THURSDAY. IN ADDITION TO THESE COOLER
TEMPS, THIS STRONG UPPER LEVEL LOW COULD ALSO USHER IN SOME VERY
WINDY CONDITIONS FOR THE ENTIRE REGION WITH THE ENTIRE CWA HAVING
AT LEAST A 50% CHANCE OF SEEING GUSTS IN THE 50S MPH THURSDAY
AND/OR FRIDAY. IT IS TIME TO BREAK OUT THOSE SHORTS BUT AT THE
SAME TIME KEEP THOSE SWEATSHIRTS READY BECAUSE THIS WEEK WILL BE A
WILD WEATHER WHIPLASH. WMR
AVIATION
VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL OVER THE REGION THROUGH THE FORECAST
PERIOD. NO SIGNIFICANT WEATHER THREATS TO AVIATION ARE EXPECTED
THROUGH TODAY. BT
PRELIMINARY POINT TEMP/POPS
TDY MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
-------------------------------------------------------
BIL 070 045/080 049/085 055/080 039/048 030/049 028/048
0/U 00/B 00/U 15/T 88/W 33/W 22/W
LVM 068 041/077 047/082 051/071 035/045 025/045 025/047
0/U 00/U 01/B 16/T 87/W 33/J 22/J
HDN 070 038/080 044/087 053/083 037/049 028/049 026/050
0/U 00/U 00/U 15/T 88/W 33/W 22/W
MLS 067 038/078 044/086 054/086 038/048 028/045 025/044
0/U 00/U 00/U 02/T 78/W 32/J 21/B
4BQ 066 039/077 045/085 054/084 037/047 028/045 025/045
0/U 00/U 00/U 01/B 68/T 42/J 21/B
BHK 061 036/075 042/084 051/085 035/048 025/043 022/042
0/U 00/B 00/U 01/B 47/T 42/J 11/B
SHR 064 035/076 041/083 049/078 034/046 023/045 022/046
0/U 00/U 00/U 13/T 79/W 43/W 33/J
BYZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
MT...NONE.
WY...NONE.
WEATHER.GOV/BILLINGS
CLICK HERE TO GO TO PREVIOUS BULLETINS.
Main Text Page