A weather system lumbering into the Northern Rockies is expected to bring wet and substantially cooler conditions with it that will likely last through the end of the workweek. Temperatures may not climb out of the 50s until after Friday.
The Billings area won’t be quite so cool, highs will remain in the mid 60s, but scattered showers and even a few thunderstorms are likely.
West of the Divide, wetting rains, meaning a tenth of an inch or more, are likely through Friday for many areas. Southwest Montana, Glacier National Park and areas along the Continental Divide could see the most with up to half an inch of rain. Northwest Montana, the Missoula and Bitterroot valleys all have low probabilities for anything more than light showers.
Snow levels will drop, bringing cold, raw conditions into the backcountry.
The National Weather Service has issued winter weather advisories above 6,500 feet from the southern Clearwater Mountains towards the Divide, where there is an increased hypothermia threat for anyone caught unprepared in the higher elevations.
Gusty north to east winds are likely in parts of northwest and west-central Montana from Wednesday evening through Thursday. That could mean debris on roadways and broken branches on power lines.
Temperatures are expected to bounce back to seasonal average highs by the weekend.