FXUS65 KBYZ 150211 AFDBYZ Area Forecast Discussion...Updated National Weather Service Billings MT 811 PM MDT Tue Apr 14 2026 .KEY MESSAGES... - Storm system late Wednesday into Friday. Widespread rain potentially transitioning to snow over the lower elevations Thursday. An inch or less of snow expected for lower elevations. - Moderate to heavy snow for area mountain ranges. 40-90% chance for greater than 12 inches of snow for the Absaroka/Beartooth and Crazy mountains. <10% chance for the Bighorn Mountains. - Warmer and Dry this Weekend. && .DISCUSSION... Through Tuesday... Breezy winds are expected over the foothills west of Billings Wednesday as 40 kt upper level winds mix to the surface. These locations have a 20-60% chance of seeing a wind gust over 50 mph with the highest chances being in the Livingston area. Breezy winds then spread across the region Thursday with all locations seeing wind gusts in the 30s and 40s mph. Upper level troughing moves into the region bringing a range of impacts late Wednesday through Friday. Some details are more certain while others are less certain with this system. Among the things that are more certain include a cold frontal passage Thursday changing precipitation from rain to snow (or rain/snow mix), and the highest precipitation amounts over the mountains and foothills. Less certain is exactly when the cold front will occur and how much temperatures will drop. This will determine when the change to snow will occur and if it will be snow or a rain/snow mix. Heavy snow is expected for the Absaroka/Beartooth and Crazy mountains as they have a 40-90% chance of getting greater than 12 inches of snow. Lower snowfall totals are expected for the Bighorn mountains as they have a 70-90% chance of getting greater than 6 inches of snow. Lower elevations are not expected to receive heavy snow with these areas having a less than 20% chance of getting greater than 2 inches of snow. Overall, minor winter impacts are expected for the lower elevations. Lingering precipitation chances exit the region by Friday night as warmer and drier conditions return for the weekend. After having high temperatures in the 40s F Thursday and Friday, 60s F are expected by Sunday with 70s F Monday and Tuesday with continued dry conditions. Torgerson .AVIATION... 02z Discussion...Isolated light rain showers will continue to push east over the plains this evening before dissipating tonight. While winds may decrease a bit around KLVM tonight, look for gusty southwest to west winds to increase once again Wednesday. These gusty winds will also impact K6S0 and K3HT during the day Wednesday. Late Wednesday into Thursday, a cold front is expected to move through the area. Ahead of this front, isolated to scattered showers are forecast over and near the mountains of south-central and western Montana Wednesday afternoon and evening. With this, occasional mountain obscurations will occur. Arends && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMP/POPS... Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue ----------------------------------------------------------- BIL 041/067 038/047 026/046 027/057 035/069 040/077 045/072 01/B 58/W 44/J 21/U 00/U 01/B 13/W LVM 038/060 029/041 021/043 023/054 030/064 037/070 041/067 05/W 99/J 56/J 20/U 00/U 01/B 24/W HDN 037/070 038/050 025/046 024/056 028/069 036/079 042/075 11/B 48/W 54/J 21/U 00/U 00/U 13/W MLS 039/067 039/050 024/041 021/051 027/065 037/075 043/074 01/B 25/W 31/B 01/U 00/U 00/U 11/U 4BQ 037/068 041/056 025/040 020/048 027/065 036/076 045/074 00/U 14/W 63/J 11/U 00/U 00/U 12/W BHK 037/068 039/054 023/038 019/046 025/063 034/070 041/071 00/U 03/W 52/J 01/U 00/U 00/U 01/B SHR 032/066 037/049 023/038 019/049 025/064 034/073 039/071 00/B 29/W 87/J 21/U 00/U 00/U 13/W && .BYZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MT...Winter Storm Watch in effect from Wednesday evening through late Thursday night FOR ZONE 67. WY...None. && $$ weather.gov/billings