Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Great Falls, MT
Issued by NWS Great Falls, MT
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815 FXUS65 KTFX 111513 AFDTFX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Great Falls MT 913 AM MDT Thu Jul 11 2024 .SYNOPSIS... Hot and dry weather prevails across the region into next week beneath a strong upper level ridge of high pressure in place across the inter-mountain Western United States. Isolated shower and thunderstorm development is possible each afternoon, though little or no measurable precipitation is expected. Breezy winds are possible near any isolated showers and storms with a period of windy conditions possible Saturday. && .UPDATE... Slight changes were made to the winds and high temperatures this afternoon for the lower elevations of central and north-central Montana to reflect updated model guidance and recent observations. Otherwise no major changes were made to the going forecast. At this point in time, the fire weather risk for the weekend is still being assessed and will be addressed in greater detail with the afternoon forecast package. -thor && .AVIATION... 11/12Z TAF Period Scattered mid-level clouds and few isolated showers with elevated cloud bases moving across central MT early this morning will decrease through mid-morning. Cumulus development may lead to the development of additional high-based showers and isolated thunderstorms this afternoon with main impact to aviation being gusty and erratic winds in the vicinity of any showers. Otherwise, VFR conditions prevail with westerly to northwesterly surface winds increasing some this afternoon. Hoenisch Refer to weather.gov/zlc for more detailed regional aviation weather and hazard information. && .FIRE WEATHER... Near record heat and low humidity will continue to rapidly dry fuels and increase fire danger across the area with several fire weather concerns over the next several days. In addition to the heat and dryness today, localized gusty and erratic winds are possible this afternoon near any high-based showers and isolated thunderstorms along with the potential for isolated lightning. On Saturday the combination of deep afternoon mixing and stronger westerly flow aloft could lead to more widespread gusty west winds, especially across central MT fire districts where deepest mixing is expected. Hoenisch && .CLIMATE... RECORD OR NEAR RECORD MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES FORECAST FOR JUL 11: LOCATION FORECAST HIGH RECORD HIGH Bozeman MSU 94 96 Chester 97 100 Chinook 99 102 Conrad 96 99 Cut Bank 95 95 Great Falls 98 99 Helena 100 100 Stanford 92 94 Townsend 95 98 && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 530 AM MDT Thu Jul 11 2024/ Widely scattered high-based showers with some isolated lightning are moving east into central MT early this morning. This is beneath a field of mid level clouds (likely ACC) seen in satellite imagery and associated with a subtle shortwave disturbance and incoming upper level wind maximum moving over the strong upper level ridge in place across the Northern Rockies. This activity should dissipate later this morning but is an indicator of the presence of limited moisture and subtle lift that will move across the region this afternoon, potentially leading to a greater coverage of elevated showers/thunderstorms. Otherwise, heat will continue to be the main weather story with temperatures approaching daily records again this afternoon. The weak disturbance moving over the ridge today results in some very minor cooling on Friday, mostly focused across north-central MT as weak surface high pressure temporarily moves across southern AB/SK, shifting winds to more northerly across the Plains. Heat will re-intensify across the area on Saturday as the upper level ridge strengthens a bit and becomes centered across the eastern Great Basin and central Rockies. A belt of stronger winds aloft also moves over the ridge Saturday, which will lead to at least breezy conditions, while an associated disturbance potentially supports some isolated high-based showers/thunderstorms across the central/SW MT mountains late Saturday and Saturday night. Later this weekend through next week, upper level ridging remains in place for continued above normal warmth. Precipitation chances look to remain very limited, though some monsoon related moisture may begin to circulate around the ridge for an increased risk of terrain-based showers and thunderstorms, but chanced measurable precipitation will remain very low. Hoenisch && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... GTF 98 60 90 60 / 10 10 0 0 CTB 96 58 85 56 / 0 0 0 0 HLN 101 63 98 61 / 10 10 0 0 BZN 98 58 96 56 / 20 10 0 0 WYS 87 46 87 45 / 10 10 0 0 DLN 92 55 94 55 / 10 10 0 0 HVR 101 61 91 60 / 10 10 10 0 LWT 93 60 87 58 / 10 20 10 10 && .TFX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$ http://www.weather.gov/greatfalls