663
FXUS65 KBYZ 121158
AFDBYZ
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT
558 AM MDT THU MAR 12 2026
KEY MESSAGES
- DANGEROUSLY STRONG WINDS EXPECTED ACROSS THE REGION TODAY.
WINDS MAY BE STRONGER THAN LAST SUNDAY'S EVENT. CROSSWINDS WILL
MAKE TRAVEL DIFFICULT, ESPECIALLY FOR HIGH PROFILE VEHICLES.
DAMAGE TO ROOFS/FENCES AND TREES ARE POSSIBLE, ALONG WITH POWER
OUTAGES.
- GUSTS 70-90 MPH ACROSS THE WESTERN FOOTHILLS WITH 60-75 MPH
GUSTS ACROSS THE PLAINS.
- PACIFIC MOISTURE MOVING INTO THE REGION WILL BRING PERIODS OF
SNOW, FIRST TO THE MOUNTAINS TODAY, AND THE REST OF THE AREA
TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT. PAY ATTENTION TO THE FORECAST
AND CHECK ON ROAD CONDITIONS BEFORE TRAVELING.
- SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL IS EXPECTED FOR THE MOUNTAINS WITH 1-3 FEET
OF SNOW FORECASTED THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT.
- ABOUT A 40-70% CHANCE EXISTS FOR AREAS NORTH AND NORTHWEST OF
BILLINGS FOR 18 INCHES OF SNOW. THE REMAINDER OF SOUTH CENTRAL
MT AND NORTHERN WY CAN EXPECT 7-14 INCHES WITH SOUTHEAST MT AT
4-7 INCHES.
UPDATE
VERY STRONG TO EXTREME WINDS ARE ON TRACK TO IMPACT THE AREA
TODAY. LATEST OBSERVATIONS SHOW WIND GUSTS IN THE 70S MPH AROUND
THE LIVINGSTON AREA, WITH WIND GUSTS FROM 60-90 MPH IN THE
MOUNTAINS. WINDS ARE BEGINNING TO SPREAD OUT INTO US191 CORRIDOR
FROM BIG TIMBER TO HARLOWTON AND JUDITH GAP, GUSTING INTO THE 50S
MPH. AS MID LEVEL WINDS INCREASE THROUGH THE MORNING, THE VERY
STRONG WINDS WILL SPREAD ACROSS THE LOWER ELEVATIONS. THE HIGH
WIND WARNINGS REMAIN IN EFFECT FOR ALL AREAS THROUGH 9PM TONIGHT.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE EXPECTED WINDS CAN BE FOUND IN THE
DISCUSSION BELOW. PLEASE USE CAUTION DRIVING TODAY, AND TAKE
PRECAUTIONS TO PROTECT YOUR PROPERTY IF YOU HAVE NOT DONE SO
ALREADY. DAMAGE TO ROOFS/FENCES AND TREES ARE POSSIBLE, ALONG
WITH POWER OUTAGES. GIVEN THE VERY STRONG WINDS, AVOID ANYTHING
THAT COULD CAUSE A FIRE. THE WINDS WILL DECREASE THIS EVENING
BEHIND A COLD FRONT, WITH SNOW DEVELOPING OVER THE AREA. STP
DISCUSSION
TODAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...
HIGH WIND WARNINGS LOOK TO BE ON TRACK AS STRONG 700 MB WINDS
CONTINUE TO INCREASE OVERNIGHT TO 75-90 KTS. THE LIVINGSTON AREA
IS ALREADY SEEING GUSTS IN THE 70S (MPH) AND THIS WILL INCREASE
THROUGH THE EARLY MORNING HOURS. AFTER SUNRISE, THE THREAT BEGINS
TO INCLUDE THE BIG TIMBER THROUGH JUDITH GAP CORRIDOR (HIGHWAY
191). THERE IS CURRENTLY A 50-60% CHANCE FOR GUSTS TO AT LEAST 80
MPH WITH AROUND A 20% CHANCE FOR GUSTS TO 90 MPH. AN ADDITIONAL
AREA TO NOTE IS THERE HAS BEEN AN INCREASE IN WINDS GUSTS AMONGST
HIGH-RES MODELS FOR THE RED LODGE FOOTHILLS FOR THE POTENTIAL FOR
SOME HIGHER END GUSTS OF 65-80 MPH MID MORNING. AFTER 9 AM, THE
REMAINDER OF THE AREA CAN EXPECT TO SEE STRONG WINDS BEGIN WITH
GUSTS 60-75 MPH COMMON. HI-RES MODELS LOOK TO BRING IN A FRONT
FROM THE NORTH LATE MORNING TO MID DAY BRINGING LIGHT
PRECIPITATION AND LIKELY ENHANCING WINDS. WINDS WILL BEGIN TO
DECREASE LATE AFTERNOON BEHIND THE FRONT. PLEASE NOTE THAT THESE
VERY STRONG WINDS CAN DOWN TREES AND POWER LINES CREATING POWER
OUTAGES AND CAUSE DAMAGE TO PROPERTY. DRIVING CONDITIONS WILL ALSO
BE VERY DIFFICULT ALONG I-90 EAST OF BILLINGS THROUGH LIVINGSTON
AND ALONG HIGHWAY 191 FROM BIG TIMBER TO JUDITH GAP, ESPECIALLY
FOR HIGH PROFILE VEHICLES. MAKE ALTERNATE TRAVEL PLANS IF
POSSIBLE.
LOW LEVEL WINDS WILL THEN TRANSITION FROM NORTH TO EAST THROUGH
THE EVENING CREATING AN OVER RUNNING PATTERN FOR OUR AREA. WITH
THIS PACIFIC FLOW IN PLACE, ATMOSPHERIC MOISTURE IS ABOUT 150-200%
OF NORMAL. THIS WILL YIELD MODERATE TO HIGH CHANCES FOR AT LEAST
AN INCH OF LIQUID WATER FOR SOUTH CENTRAL MT AND NORTHERN WY
THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT. AS FAR AS SNOWFALL AMOUNTS
GO, THE BEARTOOTH/ABSAROKAS AND CRAZIES ARE EXPECTED TO GET AROUND
1-4 FEET WITH THE BIGHORNS AT 1-2 FEET. ACROSS THE LOWER
ELEVATIONS, THE HIGHEST CHANCES FOR AT LEAST 18 INCHES ARE AREAS
NORTH AND NORTHWEST OF BILLINGS AT AROUND 40-70%. BILLINGS AND
SURROUNDING AREAS HAVE ABOUT A 40-60% CHANCE OF AT LEAST A FOOT.
AREAS OF SOUTHEAST MT HAVE ABOUT A 50-70% OF AT LEAST SIX INCHES
OF SNOW DURING THIS SAME TIME FRAME. BEING THIS ISN'T AS FAVORABLE
OF A PATTERN FOR AREAS ALONG THE BEARTOOTH FOOTHILLS (THE BEST
FORCING TO THE NORTHEAST), THESE AREAS ARE CURRENTLY FORECAST TO
GET 5 TO 10 INCHES OVER THE TWO DAY PERIOD. AS THIS SYSTEM BEGINS
TO EXIT THE REGION SATURDAY INTO SUNDAY, A FINAL FRONT AND A TIGHT
PRESSURE GRADIENT TO FOLLOW COULD CREATE SOME AREAS OF BLOWING
SNOW, ALTHOUGH SNOW MAY BE WET ENOUGH TO NOT CAUSE PROBLEMS. THIS
WILL BE SOMETHING TO KEEP AN EYE ON.
FOR NEXT WEEK, ENSEMBLES BRING IN HIGHER HEIGHTS UNDER NORTHWEST
FLOW AND INDICATE A WEAK DISTURBANCE MOVING THROUGH, LIKELY
BRINGING SOME LIGHT RAIN SHOWERS TO THE LOWER ELEVATIONS. PERIODS
OF BREEZY CONDITIONS FOR THE FOOTHILLS WEST OF BILLINGS WILL
RETURN FOR THE FIRST HALF OF THE WORK WEEK NEXT WEEK.
TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO FALL INTO THE 20S TO LOW 40S FRIDAY
THROUGH THE WEEKEND, WARMING THE TO 40S/50S/60S MON-TUES WITH LOW
70S POSSIBLE BY WEDNESDAY. TS
AVIATION
VERY STRONG WINDS WILL IMPACT THE AREA OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS. EXPECT
WIND GUSTS TO INCREASE NEAR 70 KTS ALONG THE WESTERN FOOTHILLS
THIS MORNING, INCLUDING KLVM K6S0 & KHWQ. THERE IS A LOW RISK OF
SURFACING MOUNTAIN WAVES IN THE LEE SIDE OF THE BEARTOOTH, PRYOR &
BIGHORN MOUNTAINS THROUGH EARLY THIS MORNING (POTENTIALLY
IMPACTING KSHR). A FRONTAL PASSAGE WILL PUSH STRONG/WELL-MIXED
W-NW WINDS ACROSS LOWER ELEVATIONS TODAY AS WELL, BEGINNING
15-16Z AND CONTINUING THROUGH MOST OF THE AFTERNOON. EXPECT GUSTS
OF 50-60 KNOTS AT KBIL, KMLS & KSHR WITH A ~30% CHANCE OF GUSTS
REACHING 65+ KNOTS AT THESE SITES. GUSTS ALONG THE WESTERN
FOOTHILLS MAY PUSH 80 KNOTS AT TIMES.
OTHER THAN WIND, PACIFIC FLOW WILL BRING PERIODS OF SNOW TO THE
WESTERN MOUNTAINS TODAY, RESULTING IN OCCASIONAL OBSCURATIONS OF
THE HIGH TERRAIN. EASTERN PLAINS WILL SEE SHOWER CHANCES INCREASE
WITH THE FRONTAL PASSAGE THIS AFTERNOON, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN
LATE DAY MVFR CONDITIONS. GREATER POTENTIAL FOR SNOW AND MVFR TO
IFR CONDITIONS ARRIVE THIS EVENING AS WINDS DECREASE. JKL/STP
PRELIMINARY POINT TEMP/POPS
TDY FRI SAT SUN MON TUE WED
-------------------------------------------------------
BIL 059 031/038 028/039 010/031 016/046 039/060 041/074
4/W 99/S 9+/S 92/J 33/W 21/B 00/B
LVM 054 038/048 038/047 015/035 024/052 044/065 044/071
5/W 89/O 9+/O 82/J 55/W 31/N 00/N
HDN 061 029/038 027/042 011/032 012/045 034/061 035/074
5/W 9+/S 9+/S 93/J 34/W 21/B 00/B
MLS 053 026/035 025/035 011/025 009/037 029/057 035/071
5/W 47/S 69/S 71/E 13/W 21/E 00/B
4BQ 059 026/038 026/040 012/027 009/040 031/060 038/073
5/W 78/S 79/S 92/J 12/W 21/B 00/B
BHK 051 021/035 020/031 007/023 005/034 023/052 035/066
5/W 26/S 49/S 81/E 02/J 32/W 00/B
SHR 058 024/042 025/045 007/028 010/045 032/062 037/073
7/W 98/O 89/O +3/J 23/W 21/B 00/B
BYZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
MT...HIGH WIND WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR
ZONES
29>34-36-37-40-42-56>58-63>68-138-139-141-169>173-228-235.
WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 AM
MDT SUNDAY FOR ZONES
29-30-34-42-57-63-138-141-171>173-228-235.
WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM THIS EVENING THROUGH LATE
SATURDAY NIGHT FOR ZONES 31-36-58-169.
WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM FRIDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH
LATE SATURDAY NIGHT FOR ZONES 56-66.
WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM MDT SUNDAY FOR ZONE
67.
WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 6 AM MDT
SUNDAY FOR ZONE 68.
WY...HIGH WIND WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR
ZONES 198-199.
WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 AM
MDT SUNDAY FOR ZONE 198.
WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM THIS EVENING THROUGH LATE
SATURDAY NIGHT FOR ZONE 199.
WEATHER.GOV/BILLINGS
CLICK HERE TO GO TO PREVIOUS BULLETINS.
Main Text Page