Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Great Falls, MT
Issued by NWS Great Falls, MT
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574 FXUS65 KTFX 050254 AFDTFX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Great Falls MT 854 PM MDT Tue Jun 4 2024 .SYNOPSIS... Very windy conditions continue through tonight across the area with strong winds becoming more widespread across north-central and central Montana through this evening. Winds gradually decrease on Wednesday with warmer and drier conditions following through the rest of the week with just a few showers and thunderstorms across Southwestern Montana during the afternoons. && .UPDATE... The forecast is on track. Winds across the North-central and Central plains will die down a bit overnight and then pick back up tomorrow morning. Tonight mountain wave activity will keep strong wind gusts occurring periodically along the Rocky Mountain Front and adjacent plains. Along the Rocky Mountain Front strong wind gusts will then continue through tomorrow morning. -IG && .AVIATION... 05/00Z TAF Period VFR conditions will continue across North Central (KCTB, KHVR), Central (KLWT, KGTF, KHLN), and Southwest (KBZN, KEKS, KWYS) through at least 06/00Z, as high pressure builds into the area after 12Z, decreasing scattered to broken mid-level cloudiness. The main concern for this period will be the winds. Strong low- to mid-level westerly winds will continue mountain wave turbulence and low-level wind shear across the entire area through at least 15Z. Gusts of 20 to 30 kt out of the southwest will be common in Southwest Montana, while 30 to 45 kt are expected farther north, with gusts in excess of 50 kt on the Rocky Mountain Front. As the high pressure ridge mentioned above starts building into the area, winds will gradually decrease through the end of the period. Refer to weather.gov/zlc for more detailed regional aviation weather and hazard information. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 645 PM MDT Tue Jun 4 2024/ Key Points: -Strong winds continue through Wednesday morning across North Central and Southwestern Montana -Warmer temperatures are expected later this week as upper level ridging builds in with a few thunderstorms across Southwestern Montana Through Wednesday Strong winds continue across North Central and Southwestern Montana today as a strong upper level jet streak continues to push across the area. Wind gusts this afternoon so far (as of 3PM) have been around 40-50 mph across the plains, with scattered wind gusts of 60-70 mph wind gusts along and West of I-15. Winds have been noticeably lighter across the Southwestern Valleys, with winds generally gusting to around 20-30 mph. For the rest of the evening, expect winds to continue to gust across the plains, with winds generally peaking through this evening across the plains as a combination of strong winds of 70-90 mph at 700 mb, generally around 5 to 6000 feet above the surface across the plains, and mountain waves that will propagate across the plains as these strong winds cross the Rocky Mountain Front. As these mountain waves propagate across the plains, expect wind gusts to reach and exceed 60 mph in areas that are hit with these waves. These strong westerly winds will pose some threat of blow overs of high profile vehicles, including trailers and RVs, especially on North/South oriented roadways, along with scattered tree damage now that the deciduous trees have leafed out. Winds will remain gusty overnight as some of these mountain waves continue across the plains, though outside these waves winds will generally be a bit lighter as we get a slight inversion near the surface. Winds will increase a bit again tomorrow morning as the inversion breaks, but as the upper level jet streak moves eastward and winds aloft weaken wind gusts tomorrow will be notably lighter than they are today, with gusts generally topping out around 30-40 mph across the plains, though a few gusts to 50 mph will be possible east of the Highwood and Bears Paw Mountains. Wednesday through next Monday Upper level ridging will begin to build in across the Western US through the second half of the week, which will bring generally warm and dry weather to North Central and Southwestern Montana with the exception of a few showers and thunderstorms across Southwestern Montana during the afternoon. Temperatures will generally reach the upper 70s and low 80s across the plains, with a few valley locations reaching the mid to upper 80s by Saturday as the ridge reaches its peak strength. A weak disturbance will push in for Sunday and early Monday, bringing increasing clouds and a chance for some rainfall, especially across Southwestern Montana. Most of this rain will generally be light to moderate rainfall, with a few convective elements bringing some locally heavier rainfall as they push through the area. Ludwig && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... GTF 48 71 42 79 / 10 0 0 0 CTB 43 67 39 76 / 10 0 0 0 HLN 51 75 48 85 / 10 0 0 0 BZN 50 76 44 84 / 10 0 0 0 WYS 44 72 39 77 / 10 0 0 0 DLN 50 76 45 84 / 10 0 0 0 HVR 50 71 44 76 / 0 0 0 0 LWT 47 66 42 75 / 10 0 0 0 && .TFX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... High Wind Warning until noon MDT Wednesday for Bears Paw Mountains and Southern Blaine-Big Belt, Bridger and Castle Mountains-Cascade County below 5000ft-East Glacier Park Region- Eastern Glacier, Western Toole, and Central Pondera-Eastern Pondera and Eastern Teton-Eastern Toole and Liberty-Fergus County below 4500ft-Hill County-Judith Basin County and Judith Gap-Little Belt and Highwood Mountains-Meagher County Valleys- Northern Blaine County-Northern High Plains-Snowy and Judith Mountains-Southern High Plains-Southern Rocky Mountain Front- Upper Blackfoot and MacDonald Pass-Western and Central Chouteau County. && $$ http://www.weather.gov/greatfalls