textproduct: Great Falls

KEY MESSAGES

- Dry and mild weather through the upcoming week.

- Gusty winds along the Rocky Mountain Front Thursday through Friday night.

- Patchy fog possible during overnight and early morning hours, mainly impacting the SW valleys and areas near bodies of water.

UPDATE

/Issued 803 PM MST Mon Nov 2 2026/

Evening satellite imagery shows mainly clear skies across the area under a dry northerly flow aloft downstream of an upper level ridge centered over the Northern Rockies. There is some potential for patchy fog development overnight where winds are lightest, including some southwest MT valleys as well as areas along the Milk and Marias river in north-central MT. Hoenisch

DISCUSSION

/Issued 803 PM MST Mon Nov 2 2026/

- Meteorological Overview:

Overall, weather will be mild and dry through the upcoming work week. The main concern will be gusty winds along the Rocky Mountain Front Thursday through Friday night.

An upper-level ridge develops over the region today and remains in place through Tuesday, resulting in dry and mild weather. The upper-level ridge weakens and collapses over Tuesday night as a weak cut-off upper-level low tracks east across Utah and Colorado. No major weather shifts are expected from this low, although there will be cooler weather on Wednesday compared to Tuesday. Weak upper-level ridging develops over Wednesday night, but quickly begins deteriorating and shifting eastward over Thursday. Following the movement of the ridge, an upper-level trough begins moving eastward into the region and bringing southwesterly flow aloft. As a result, winds pick up along the Rocky Mountain Front but gusts are currently expected to remain under 40 mph. As the trough continues its eastward movement, winds will increase and shift westerly over Thursday night. The upper-level pressure gradient compresses over Friday and remains compressed through Friday night, resulting in increased winds along the Rocky Mountain Front and central MT with gusts up to 60 mph. There is the potential for showers Thursday through Friday, but showers currently look inclined to remain west of the divide.

Looking towards Saturday and beyond, a new upper-level ridge begins to establish itself. Likely leading to a continuation of mild and dry weather. Winds decrease over Saturday, but areas of breezy winds will remain possible. -ESH

- Forecast Confidence & Scenarios:

Winds exceeding 60 mph Thursday night through Friday night...

Thursday Night: 25% chance for gusts to exceed 60 mph for the Rocky Mountain Front.

Friday: 30% chance for gusts to exceed 60 mph for the Rocky Mountain Front.

Friday Night: 55% chance for gusts to exceed 60 mph for the Rocky Mountain Front. 20% chance for gusts to exceed 60 mph along the eastern slopes of the Little Belts. -ESH

AVIATION

03/06Z TAF Period

VFR conditions will prevail throughout this TAF period, with the exception of KWYS which may see LIFR conditions through 13Z due to early morning fog development. Surface winds will generally be light and variable, and cloud cover will begin to increase around 00Z. -Dzomba

PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS

GTF 30 56 29 48 / 0 0 0 0 CTB 24 49 27 48 / 0 0 0 0 HLN 25 48 27 48 / 0 0 0 0 BZN 23 46 26 43 / 0 0 0 0 WYS 15 45 19 50 / 0 0 0 0 DLN 22 45 25 45 / 0 0 0 0 HVR 26 49 28 43 / 0 0 0 0 LWT 25 53 30 46 / 0 0 0 0

TFX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

None.