568 FXUS65 KBYZ 241529 AFDBYZ Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Billings MT 829 AM MST Tue Nov 24 2020 .UPDATE... Building upper level ridge will bring dry wx, occasional high clouds and temps mostly in the 40s today. Lee side troffing already producing gusts over 40 mph at Big Timber, and near 30 mph at Harlowton and Livingston. Strongest winds will be in the gap areas tonight/Wed. Have tweaked winds based on current conditions. Have also raised expected highs a bit. JKL && .DISCUSSION... Today through Wednesday night... Another seasonal day for the area today with high pressure overhead, partly cloudy skies and high temperatures in the lower to middle 40s most places. Winds will increase along the western foothills late this afternoon as pressure gradients tighten in advance of another approaching shortwave. Southwest wind gusts to 60 mph are possible for the Livingston area, east along the Beartooth foothills this evening into Wednesday. Winds begin to decrease for the gap areas by the afternoon, but increase from Harlowton down to Big Timber as a cold front moves into the area, associated with the next shortwave. Wind gusts in the 40s are possible Wednesday afternoon. Have gone ahead and issued a Wind Advisory for Livingston and the Beartooth foothills, in effect from late this afternoon through Wednesday. Aforementioned shortwave will split with stronger energy driving toward the 4-corners Wednesday and Wednesday night. We will see enough instability and ascent for a brief period of snow over the mountains, and some light rain/snow showers over our NW flow upslope areas. Much of the area will remain dry. Billings could see a light snow shower or flurry in the evening, at most. Highs in the 40s are forecast Wednesday. Expect lows in the teens to 20s tonight and Wednesday night. STP Thursday through Monday... Main message for the extended period is frequent strong wind in the foothills and gap locations. There is also a chance of high wind on the plains Saturday afternoon. Otherwise, mostly dry conditions are expected, but a weather system moving across the area Monday night may produce some scattered rain/snow showers. Details...A split flow trof will be moving across our region Thursday. A few snow showers are possible in the high country, but otherwise conditions will be dry with windy conditions in the foothills. Upper ridging will build into the region Friday and quickly flatten to strong westerly flow for Saturday as a shortwave moves across to our north, so this looks mainly dry for our CWA. The main impact may be wind as the GFS is showing a threat of strong winds over our eastern plains late Saturday with exceptional pressure rises, but the GFS tends to run too strong this far out and is not supported by our ensemble tools. So this will need to be monitored moving forward. Overall temps will stay near or above normal through the period, mainly in the 40s to lower 50s. BT && .AVIATION... VFR conditions will prevail through the period with passing mid/ high level clouds. SW-W winds will be gusty along the western foothills today...with gusts of 25-35 kts. Winds at KLVM will increase to 40-50 kts tonight into Wednesday. JKL && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMP/POPS... Tdy Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon ------------------------------------------------------- BIL 045 028/045 026/042 027/047 032/051 023/043 026/047 0/U 01/E 20/U 00/U 00/N 00/U 00/B LVM 042 027/041 023/038 021/044 024/048 020/042 022/045 0/N 04/W 20/N 00/N 00/N 00/U 00/B HDN 047 022/047 024/044 023/050 025/053 021/045 020/049 0/U 01/B 20/U 00/U 00/N 00/U 00/B MLS 045 022/044 024/041 024/047 028/051 021/039 019/043 0/U 01/B 00/B 00/U 00/N 00/U 00/B 4BQ 045 023/048 024/041 024/048 027/053 022/041 021/047 0/U 00/B 10/U 00/U 00/U 00/U 00/U BHK 041 022/046 024/039 022/045 027/050 018/037 017/043 0/U 00/B 00/B 00/U 00/N 00/U 00/U SHR 046 020/048 019/041 017/048 022/054 018/042 018/050 0/U 00/B 31/B 00/U 00/U 00/U 00/U && .BYZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MT...Wind Advisory in effect from 4 PM this afternoon to 5 PM MST Wednesday FOR ZONES 65-66. WY...None. && $$ weather.gov/billings