580 FXUS65 KBYZ 060332 AFDBYZ Area Forecast Discussion...Updated National Weather Service Billings MT 932 PM MDT Sat Jul 5 2025 .KEY MESSAGES... - Cooler temperatures through Sunday. - Hot and mainly dry next week, 90s to near 100 degrees Tuesday and Wednesday. && .UPDATE... The threat for severe storms has ended. Isolated showers and weak thunderstorms will linger into the early morning hours. && .DISCUSSION... Through Monday night... The stage remains set for a couple periods of strong to severe thunderstorms this afternoon and evening over the area as a Pacific trough moves through the region. A broad area of MUCAPE in the 1500-2500 j/kg is expected to be over a large portion of the area by the afternoon, with bulk shear of 40 to 55kts co-located. Storms will get going earlier than normal, around noon in the west, spreading east through the afternoon and evening hours. 1 to 2 inch diameter hail and gusts to 70 mph seem reasonable with stronger storms today, and an isolated tornado can't be ruled out with elevated values for low level EHI/VGP parameters especially in the early part of the afternoon. Locally heavy rainfall is possible as well with Precipitable Water values in excess of an inch, and WPC has a marginal risk for excessive rainfall over the area. A cold front associated with the trough will bring a second round of thunderstorms late this afternoon and evening behind the initial activity. This activity should be weaker than the first with the atmosphere having already been worked on by the first set of storms. That said there could still be a few strong to marginally severe storms with this round as well. Convection will shift out of the area to the east by late evening, with quieter weather expected overnight into Sunday. Patchy fog is possible over the area late tonight as skies clear. Seasonal temperatures and mainly dry conditions will prevail for Sunday. Highs in the 75 to 85 degree range can be expected. A few isolated showers or rumbles of thunder can't be ruled out near the higher terrain, but the chance remains low (15% or less). A disturbance crossing near the Canadian border will bring low chances (20%) for showers and thunderstorms late Sunday night into Monday morning over eastern areas. High pressure building over the region will drier and warmer conditions for the second half of Monday, with highs in the 80s most places. STP Tuesday through Sunday... By Tuesday, a fairly strong ridge will have built back into much of the Northern Rockies region with calmer weather. High temps across the forecast area midweek wil be back in the mid to upper 90s for a majority of the area. Wednesday will likely be the warmest day with there being good consensus in the latest NBM run. Even the more conservative estimates (NBM 25%) show places like Billings and Miles City, approaching or eclipsing 100F on Wednesday. RH values are forecast to drop into the mid teens for parts of the area during this time as well. The good news for fire concerns, however, is that winds will remain light (gusts under 15-20kts) and that much of the area is still green and with no reports of any vegitation curing yet. On Thursday, the ridge could break down slightly. Both the GFS and ECMWF show a shortwave trough move through the area at some point during the day Thursday. While the ECMWF deterministic solution is stronger than that of the GFS, there is still a 30-40% chance of scattered showers across the CWA. The warmer conditions should continue into the weekend but there does appear to be a growing consensus in another Pacific Trough moving through later next weekend. The clusters do show a lot of disagreement still and thus this wil have to be monitored as the week progresses. WMR && .AVIATION... Isolated showers and thunderstorms will taper off into the morning hours and return for the afternoon and evening. Localized fog is possible near all TAF sites until shortly after sunrise. Archer && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMP/POPS... Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat ----------------------------------------------------------- BIL 054/083 059/087 060/097 065/098 063/085 056/079 055/089 20/U 10/U 00/U 00/U 11/B 42/T 11/U LVM 044/081 049/086 052/092 056/092 054/083 049/080 049/088 00/U 00/U 00/U 00/U 12/T 32/W 11/U HDN 054/083 056/089 058/098 061/099 061/086 054/079 052/090 30/U 10/U 00/U 00/U 11/B 41/U 10/U MLS 057/081 060/087 062/097 065/099 065/087 056/080 054/089 71/U 22/W 00/U 00/U 10/B 31/U 10/U 4BQ 057/080 060/085 062/094 066/097 065/088 057/075 054/086 61/U 22/W 00/U 00/U 10/B 41/U 10/U BHK 054/078 056/085 056/091 061/097 061/088 054/080 052/087 72/W 22/W 00/U 10/U 11/B 31/U 11/U SHR 050/080 052/086 053/094 058/095 057/083 051/075 048/085 31/U 11/U 00/U 00/U 11/B 43/T 11/U && .BYZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MT...None. WY...None. && $$ weather.gov/billings |