954 FXUS65 KBYZ 280701 AFDBYZ Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Billings MT 1201 AM MST Sat Feb 28 2026 .KEY MESSAGES... - Gusty foothills winds (Livingston, Big Timber, Nye) continue through mid morning. - Cold front arrives mid morning with cooler temperatures and breezy northerly winds today. Highs 50s west to 30s east. - Warmer and mainly dry Sunday through Wednesday. Highs in the 60s Tuesday/Wednesday, but without the strong winds. - Next weather system arrives Wednesday night into Thursday with a good chance (40-70 percent) for precipitation (0.1 to 0.25 inches). && .DISCUSSION... Rest of Tonight through Thursday... Gusty winds linger over the western foothills into this morning before a cold front drops through the area mid morning and brings an end to the gusty winds across the region through mid week. Snowfall with this cold front has dwindled to little more than a dusting across Fallon county at this point, so have dropped messaging for snowfall as any kind of impact. Temperatures will be 10 to 20 degrees colder today compared to the past several days for most of the forecast area. Highs over the western foothills will be in the lower 50s, 40s central areas, and 30s along the eastern state line. A 10 to 20 mph northerly breeze will develop behind the front making it feel a bit colder (Afternoon wind chills 30s/40s central and west, teens east), so plan on bundling up if heading outdoors today. Cool down is short lived as jet stream shifts northeast and drags colder air with it. Area comes under a split flow regime with a wound-up disturbance off the California coast on Sunday moving into the 4-Corners vicinity by Tuesday. Latest runs are a bit further north with the track of this system, but its overall organization looks less impressive, thus it still looks like any impactful weather associated with it will stay south of our area. At the same time the jet stream stays well to the north locking up colder air and thus our portion of the Northern Rockies stays in between potential systems for a quiet end of the weekend and start to the work week ahead. Weak subsidence aloft and light to moderate downslope winds will keep a good deal of sun around and allow temperatures to climb back into the 60s once again for Tuesday/Wednesday. This time though will not see the strong winds that we saw this past week accompanying those very warm temperatures. A good chance to get outside and enjoy the beginning of Meteorological Spring. Next weather system looks to move into the area Wednesday night through Thursday. This is a synoptic scale trof that slides in from the west off the Pacific. Most of the upper level energy with this system is west and south of the area as the strengthening jet stream comes in off the Washington coast and dives into the desert southwest, which over time stretches this system out and disrupts the organization of the portion over our area, limiting the precipitation potential it could have. That said long range models are advertising a few tenths of an inch of precipitation for a good chunk of the area Wednesday night through Friday morning, along with 4 to 8 inches of snow in the mountains. This system isn't very cold by early March standards so rain or a rain snow mix is currently the advertised precipitation type for the lower elevations. Chambers .AVIATION... A cold front has backed through KBIL this evening bringing northeast winds. This front is forecast to eventually move back east, allowing for westerly winds to return overnight. Strong wind gusts around KLVM and K6S0 are forecast to continue overnight, before decreasing around 15z Saturday. Another cold front is forecast to shift winds to the east for all terminals Saturday afternoon/evening. Expect VFR conditions to prevail through the period. Matos && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMP/POPS... Tdy Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri ------------------------------------------------------- BIL 045 023/054 032/059 031/062 040/062 036/051 030/052 0/U 00/B 01/E 10/U 01/E 64/W 21/B LVM 055 029/057 035/055 031/058 037/056 031/045 027/046 0/N 00/B 12/W 10/U 03/W 73/W 11/N HDN 045 021/053 027/058 027/062 032/064 033/049 025/053 0/B 00/B 01/E 00/U 01/E 65/W 21/U MLS 034 019/046 025/055 024/056 032/060 030/043 022/047 0/B 00/B 00/B 00/U 00/E 33/W 10/U 4BQ 042 023/050 028/057 028/058 035/062 032/048 025/048 0/B 00/B 00/E 00/U 00/B 34/W 21/B BHK 031 014/042 022/053 023/055 032/058 025/042 019/043 1/B 00/B 00/B 00/U 00/B 23/W 11/B SHR 047 022/052 028/055 027/058 029/060 028/045 022/046 0/U 00/B 02/W 10/U 01/B 57/W 32/W && .BYZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MT...Wind Advisory in effect until 9 AM MST this morning FOR ZONES 65-66. High Wind Warning in effect until 9 AM MST this morning FOR ZONES 141-172. WY...None. && $$ weather.gov/billings