274 FXUS65 KBYZ 292259 AFDBYZ Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Billings MT 459 PM MDT Thu Oct 29 2020 .UPDATE... Temperatures today have grossly overachieved with most places getting into the low-mid 60s. Today's warmth shows that our disappearing snow cover is no longer an inhibitor of daytime warming. Tonight will be mild/breezy along the foothills. Tomorrow is looking very warm in a pre-frontal regime, and have raised expected highs up several degrees. Livingston's record high of 71 degrees could be approached...and wind gusts at LVM should exceed 50 mph in the afternoon w/ sufficient mixing. Something else to keep in mind: Sheridan (i.e. the lee of the Bighorns) could see some brief/gusty downslope winds as the front moves in Friday evening. Have made some wind and RH adjustments (in addition to the wind) for tonight and Friday. JKL && .DISCUSSION... Tonight through Saturday night... Moisture laden northwest flow aloft producing some mid and high level clouds across the area while low pressure over the plains is producing some brisk wind in the foothills. Breezy conditions may linger in the foothills overnight. Lows will be in the 20s and 30s. As upper ridge axis moves across our region Friday, shortwave energy moves into the Pacific Northwest inducing pressure falls in the lee of the rockies. Expect winds in favored gap flow areas like Livingston and Big Timber to increase Friday. At this time, it appears winds will generally remain sub-advisory level with highest gusts 40 to around 50 mph. Pre-frontal warming should get afternoon highs well into the 50s Friday across our forecast area. Short-wave and associated cold front then moves through Friday night. While the frontal passage looks mainly dry, there are decent pressure rises progged. So would not be surprised to see some brisk post frontal winds Friday night (15-30 mph) spread across the area. These should decrease overnight. Look for overnight lows in the 30s. Saturday will see brisk northwest winds, especially in the eastern counties. Temperatures will be cooler with highs in the 40s. Winds decrease everywhere Saturday night with lows dropping into the 20s. BT Sunday through Thursday... Upper level ridging looks to dominate the weather Sunday through Tuesday, before becoming more zonal Wednesday through Thursday. This will result in dry weather and temperatures that are more seasonable for early November. Winds will be breezy at times along the western foothills. A weather system moving into the western US by the weekend looks to bring a possible return to cooler and wetter conditions, but there's still a lot of uncertainty, so will continue to monitor for now. Highs will range from the 50s most days, with 60s possible on the warmest days. Lows are forecast in the 30s and 40s most nights/mornings. STP && .AVIATION... VFR conditions will prevail tonight and Friday under scattered to broken high clouds. Winds along the western foothills will remain breezy. At KLVM, expect gusts to increase from 30 kts this evening to 45 kts tomorrow. JKL && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMP/POPS... Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu ----------------------------------------------------------- BIL 036/065 036/049 028/055 037/063 039/062 041/061 040/055 00/N 00/U 00/U 00/U 00/U 00/B 11/B LVM 040/067 030/049 026/057 032/063 034/061 036/060 037/055 00/N 10/U 00/U 00/U 00/U 01/B 12/R HDN 027/067 034/049 024/055 030/063 034/064 036/063 036/058 00/B 10/B 00/U 00/U 00/U 00/B 11/B MLS 031/062 036/047 024/052 030/064 038/064 038/062 038/055 00/B 10/N 00/U 00/U 00/U 00/U 11/B 4BQ 029/063 035/045 024/053 032/065 036/065 037/063 037/057 00/U 00/N 00/U 00/U 00/U 00/U 00/U BHK 028/056 033/043 020/049 030/062 037/062 038/060 037/055 00/B 00/N 00/U 00/U 00/U 00/U 00/U SHR 028/068 031/047 022/055 030/067 033/065 033/063 034/058 00/U 10/U 00/U 00/U 00/U 00/U 11/U && .BYZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MT...None. WY...None. && $$ weather.gov/billings