410
FXUS65 KBYZ 071244
AFDBYZ

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Billings MT
544 AM MST Fri Nov 7 2025

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Strong winds (40-60 mph) for the western foothills today.

- Cold front Friday night / Sat morning may produce light snow
  accumulations (dusting to an inch) for areas east of Hardin by
  Saturday morning.

- Gusty winds expected Friday night into Saturday morning
  (30-40 mph) over much of the area.

- Cooler temperatures through the weekend before above average
  temperatures return Monday through Wednesday.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Today through Friday...

700 mb winds near 40 kts and an Idaho Falls to Lewistown pressure
gradient near 10 mb will bring strong winds to gap areas this
morning. Locations such as Livingston and Nye have a 75% chance of
seeing a wind gust greater than 50 mph and a 50% chance of getting
a gust over 60 mph. 700 mb winds around 50 kts for locations such
as Big Timber and Harlowton will lead to strong winds throughout
the day. Locations west of Billings will see widespread gusts into
the 40s mph with Big Timber and Harlowton having high chances
(70-80%) of getting a wind gust over 50 mph.

A 500 mb wave moves over the region late Friday/early Saturday
creating a clipper system that will impact the region. A weak
cold front will bring 20-40% chances for precipitation across much
of the region today. Minimal precipitation is expected with this
front with mountain and foothill locations getting a few
hundredths and little to no accumulations elsewhere. A tight
pressure gradient and strong winds just above the surface will set
up as the Clipper System moves southeast into the Dakotas. Cold
frontal passage Friday evening will increase wind gusts from the
20s mph into the 30-40s mph over the plains. Most locations over
the plains have a 50-75% chance of getting a wind gust over 40 mph
Friday night/Saturday morning. Winds will decrease throughout the
day Saturday across the region.

The secondary cold front will bring 20-40% chances for snow to
locations east of Billings Friday night into Sunday morning.
Accumulations are expected to be light with a 10-20% chance for
greater than one inch for the higher hills of southeast Montana
and a <10% chance elsewhere. The combination of light snow and
winds gusting into the 30s and 40s mph could lead to localized
visibility reductions.

The cold frontal passage will decrease temperatures from the 50s
today into the 40s F for most locations and 30s F for locations
near the Dakotas border. Sunday morning will likely be the coldest
of the fall so far with low to mid 20s F for most locations and
teens near the Dakotas border. Upper level ridging works back into
the region Monday through midweek with temperatures rising into
the 50s and 60s F. WPC clusters are indicating upper level
troughing may come back into the region late in the week bringing
precipitation chances, though this is highly uncertain at this
time. Torgerson

.AVIATION...

Expect SW wind gusts of 40-50 kts at KLVM early today, until a
Pacific cold front arrives 16-18z. This front will bring a shift
to brisk W-NW winds across the region. Look for gusts of 35-45 kts
at KLVM, K6S0 & KHWQ, and 25-35 kts from KBIL eastward today. In
addition to the wind, the cold front will bring a short period of
lower elevation rain showers and mountain snow. VFR will prevail
at lower elevations while the mountains become obscured. Tonight,
a push of colder Canadian air will bring snow showers and gusty NW
winds to areas east of KBIL. Expect reductions to MVFR/IFR at KMLS
& KBHK after 06z, along with gusts of 30-40 kts. VFR will prevail
elsewhere. JKL

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMP/POPS...

    Tdy Sat     Sun     Mon     Tue     Wed     Thu
-------------------------------------------------------
BIL 055 035/050 025/051 035/062 043/064 035/057 037/062
    2/W 11/N    00/B    00/B    00/U    00/B    01/B
LVM 050 026/046 022/056 035/062 038/060 034/060 036/062
    7/W 00/U    00/B    00/B    00/B    00/B    11/B
HDN 055 033/048 022/050 029/064 039/064 032/056 033/062
    4/W 22/W    00/B    00/B    00/U    00/B    01/B
MLS 055 030/039 020/042 026/063 041/061 030/053 031/058
    2/W 31/N    00/B    00/B    00/U    00/B    00/B
4BQ 056 031/040 022/043 028/063 043/060 033/055 034/060
    2/W 23/J    00/B    00/B    00/U    00/B    00/B
BHK 052 024/035 012/036 019/058 035/057 027/052 026/055
    2/W 41/N    00/B    00/B    00/U    00/B    00/B
SHR 057 029/044 020/049 027/068 035/062 030/057 032/064
    3/W 31/N    00/B    00/B    00/U    00/B    00/B

&&

.BYZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MT...Wind Advisory in effect until noon MST today FOR ZONES 65-66.
WY...None.

&&

$$
weather.gov/billings