Weather alerts for the NWS Billings MT forecast area

000
FXUS65 KBYZ 280908
AFDBYZ

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Billings MT 
308 AM MDT Wed Oct 28 2026

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Mainly dry with seasonable temperatures today into the second 
  half of the week.

- Chance of precipitation begins to increase late Friday into 
  Saturday ahead of a potential weather system.

- A weather system may bring cooler temperatures, precipitation, 
  and windy conditions to the region Sunday into Monday, though 
  uncertainty remains. 

&&

.UPDATE...
Satellite imagery shows a weak shortwave tracking zonally through
WY and drier air over MT. Area of precip is mostly south of the 
Bighorns and expectation is that this will continue to track
eastward and probably avoid southeast MT over the next few hours,
though cannot rule out brief light snow showers/flurries around 
Alzada. Have made adjustments to early morning pops/wx to account 
for current trends. Otherwise, today will be dry with temps in the
50s to near 60F, and somewhat breezy west winds. A Canadian cold
front will sag into the area shifting winds to the east on
Thursday. Thursday night brings potential for fog and upslope
stratus, which both the RRFS and HRRR are suggesting. Something to
watch. JKL

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Today through Tuesday...

Seasonable conditions will exist today with high temperatures in 
the 50s to lower 60s (F). While much less windy than yesterday, 
breezy westerly winds are expected in spots today with peak wind 
gusts mainly in the teens and 20s mph, though a few gusts into the
30s mph are forecast over the foothills west of Billings. While 
mostly dry conditions will prevail, a passing shortwave trough 
will bring a few snow showers to the mountains, mainly the 
Absaroka- Beartooth Mountains, early this morning. There is also a
slight chance (15 percent) of a few light rain/snow showers in 
far southeastern Montana (mainly southern portions of Carter 
County) this morning, but recent model runs have trended a bit 
farther south with this precipitation. Any precipitation that 
occurs today will be light, with a dusting to an inch or two of 
snow possible over the Absaroka-Beartooth Mountains. 

Thursday into Friday will remain mainly dry with seasonable 
temperatures as we sit between a developing low pressure system 
over the west coast of the United States and a ridge of high 
pressure over the central United States.

Late Friday into Saturday, the chance of precipitation begins to 
increase as the area of low pressure over the west coast of the 
United States starts to approach our region. With this, 
atmospheric moisture values will increase and occasional waves of 
energy should be enough for at least isolated showers at times, 
mainly over the mountains and foothills. 

Sunday into Monday, the area of low pressure looks to cross 
through our region in some fashion, however, there is still a good
amount of uncertainty in how exactly this will occur. While the 
placement of the low pressure center will dictate what kind of 
impacts we see, there is at least the chance of seeing cooler 
temperatures, precipitation, and windy conditions returning to 
much of the area. Behind this weather system, ensembles suggest a 
period of slightly warmer and drier conditions may return around 
Tuesday with a ridge of high pressure moving in aloft. LA

.AVIATION...

Issued 09z. A weak disturbance tracking across WY will bring 
isolated snow showers to the Bighorn Mountains until 11z. 
Otherwise, VFR will prevail across the region over the next 24 
hours. Breezy SW-W winds will impact the western foothills with 
occasional gusts of 20-30 knots today. JKL

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMP/POPS...

    Tdy Thu     Fri     Sat     Sun     Mon     Tue     
-------------------------------------------------------
BIL 058 030/052 031/048 033/056 036/052 036/051 034/055
    0/U 00/U    00/E    00/B    25/W    73/W    21/B
LVM 052 024/051 024/048 029/055 031/047 025/046 023/053
    0/N 00/U    00/E    04/W    47/W    72/W    21/U
HDN 060 023/055 026/054 028/057 032/055 033/052 027/056
    0/U 00/U    00/B    00/B    15/W    74/W    21/B
MLS 057 027/053 030/055 036/056 037/056 037/051 032/054
    0/U 00/U    00/B    00/B    13/W    75/W    32/W
4BQ 058 027/056 032/056 039/059 038/058 038/050 033/053
    0/U 00/U    00/B    00/B    12/W    76/W    32/W
BHK 056 023/055 022/052 033/060 035/059 032/050 026/052
    0/U 00/U    00/N    10/E    22/W    76/W    32/W
SHR 057 022/057 025/054 032/058 032/055 032/049 027/055
    0/U 00/U    00/B    01/B    14/W    86/W    32/W

&&

.BYZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MT...None.
WY...None.

&&

$$
weather.gov/billings