Yes, you read that right. Summer begins on Friday but a big storm will bring unusually cold and rainy conditions to parts of Big Sky Country. Temperatures in the mountains will be cold enough for snow to accumulate. Before we get there, thunderstorms will continue to fire on Tuesday. Northcentral Montana will see the most activity, with fewer thunderstorms closer to and west of the Continental Divide. Highs will be in the 70s to around 80, but temperatures will drop into the 50s and 60s if a thunderstorm moves over. Wednesday a strong cold front will push through the state. Isolated thunderstorms will develop along and ahead of the front, but temperatures will drop as the wind picks up behind the front. Highs will reach the 70s to around 80, but fall through the 60s and 50s later in the day. Grab a jacket Wednesday morning. You may not need it then, but you will Wednesday afternoon and evening. Thursday a large low pressure will spread clouds, strong wind, showers and mountain snow across much of western Montana. Highs will only be in the 50s and 60s, but only in the 30s in the mountains. Snow levels will likely drop to 6000′ Thursday afternoon. Summer officially arrives at 9:54am on Friday, but at no point in the day will it feel like the first day of summer. Highs will only be in the 50s and 60s again, with mountain snow flying. There could be more than 6″ accumulating up on the Rocky Mountain Front, along the Continental Divide, near Glacier National Park and down around Yellowstone. Saturday will still be a cool, showery day but temperatures will moderate a smidge. Sunday will have partly cloudy skies, scattered afternoon thunderstorms, and highs in the 70s.
Have a great day.
Curtis Grevenitz
