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000
FXUS65 KTFX 201938
AFDTFX

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Great Falls MT
138 PM MDT Sat Apr 20 2024

.SYNOPSIS...

Very windy conditions develop on Sunday in association with a
passing frontal system with strong winds expected from the Rocky
Mountain Front east along the Alberta border. Warmer air will
slowly move into Central MT over the next few days. Overall,
Wednesday is looking to the be warmest day over the next week.

&&

.DISCUSSION...


Key Message: Gusty West Winds Develop Across Central/N-central MT
Sunday With Strongest Winds and Potentially Difficult Cross-winds
Extending From The Rocky Mountain Front East Along The MT/Alberta
Border

Satellite imagery this afternoon shows an upper-level high
centered across AB with strongly meridional flow (southerly) to
its west and (northerly) east. A much flatter zonal flow exists to
the south along 40N with a low amplitude ridge progressing east
into the Northern Rockies downstream of a stronger wave in the
base of a negatively tilted trough approaching the BC/WA coast.

The main forecast concern is strong winds on Sunday as the previously
mentioned offshore wave races ENE across southern BC/AB with
compressed and increased westerly flow to its south. Strongest
winds look to develop following the passage of a mainly dry
Pacific cold front, aided by surface pressure rises and enhanced
mixing as mid-level cold advection coincides with daytime surface
heating. 700MB winds in excess of 50kts generally line up with
areas west of I-15 within the current High Wind Warning, where
probabilities for gusts in excess of 55mph are also 90% or higher.
Similar probabilities exist for gusts in excess of 70 mph along
the immediate east slope areas, where mountain wave enhancement
is most likely to occur just prior to the front`s arrival Sunday
morning. Further east across Toole and Liberty counties, probabilities
for gusts in excess of 55 mph decrease, but deeper afternoon
mixing supports higher probabilities (60-80%) for sustained winds
near 40 mph across these areas, particularly near the Sweetgrass
Hills.

30-40 mph wind gusts will be common across the remainder of
north-central and southwest MT by Sunday afternoon with windy
conditions lingering through Sunday night an Monday across north-
central MT as the upper level wave and associated surface low
pressure track east across the Canadian Prairies. A few showers
are possible as the front continues through eastern portions of SW
MT Sunday evening with some showers likely to wrap around the low
and across far eastern portions of north-central MT Monday. There
is a substantial surface pressure gradient and mid-level NW flow
across Hill and Blaine counties on Monday to support continued
wind gusts in excess of 45 mph Monday afternoon, but clouds could
also limit deeper mixing in these areas.

Temperatures climb back to near seasonal averages Sunday and remain
close to seasonal averages Monday under a mainly dry west to
northwest flow aloft. Upper level ridging builds across the area
around the middle of next week with temperatures likely to peak
around 10 degrees above seasonal averages on Wednesday. Longer range
model ensembles continue to broadly support the next round of upper
level troughing moving into the western US by the end of next week
into the weekend. While there is a fair amount of uncertainty
with details within this larger scale trough, a trend back to
cooler temperatures and increasing chances for precipitation can
be expected going into next weekend. Hoenisch

&&

.AVIATION...
1216 PM MDT Sat Apr 20 2024 (20/18Z TAF Period)

High pressure will remain over the Northern Rockies for at least the
first half of the TAF period for widespread VFR conditions and light
winds. Higher level clouds will begin to increase after 21/06Z as a
Pacific cold front approaches from the west. Westerly winds and
associated mountain wave activity initially increase along the Rocky
Mountain Front after 21/09Z before spreading onto the plains and
valleys to the east by Sunday afternoon. Wind gusts will approach
and exceed 50 kts along the Rocky Mountain Front, while gusts mostly
stay within the 20 to 40 kt range elsewhere. Aside from a few
isolated showers along the Continental Divide and Southwest Montana,
little in the way of precipitation is expected with the frontal
passage and VFR conditions will prevail. - RCG

Refer to weather.gov/zlc for more detailed regional aviation
weather and hazard information.

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
GTF  31  58  32  57 /   0   0   0   0
CTB  26  51  32  55 /   0   0   0   0
HLN  33  60  32  58 /   0   0   0   0
BZN  24  65  25  56 /   0  20  10   0
WYS  19  56  22  51 /   0  20  20   0
DLN  29  63  27  58 /   0  10   0   0
HVR  27  60  34  58 /   0   0   0  10
LWT  25  60  29  51 /   0  10  10   0

&&

.TFX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
High Wind Warning from 7 AM Sunday to midnight MDT Sunday night
for East Glacier Park Region-Eastern Glacier, Western Toole, and
Central Pondera-Eastern Toole and Liberty-Northern High Plains-
Southern High Plains.

&&

$$

http://www.weather.gov/greatfalls