Scattered strong to severe thunderstorms on Wednesday

Added: 2026-05-14

[00:00:00]Tracker weather starts now [music] with chief meteorologist Ryan Dennis. Welcome back everyone. We have had beautiful spring weather today with pleasant temperatures, dry conditions, little to no wind, and a lot of sunshine.

[00:00:12]Hopefully been able to spend some time outdoors. On the Great Falls Clinic I-Cam has been sunny for the entire day today, but there have been some high level clouds around throughout the afternoon and the evening. High pressure is currently in control of our weather, which is why we have had nice weather today, but this storm system and its associated cold front will be working its way through Montana later tomorrow and tomorrow night, and that cold front is going to bring some big changes to our weather. Temperatures will cool down as we head into the end of the week.

[00:00:38]There are going to be scattered showers and thunderstorms around later on tomorrow. We are going to have a lot more wind as we head into the end of this week as well. Overnight tonight partly cloudy skies, a stray shower is possible as we get closer to sunrise.

[00:00:50]For the most part though, it is going to be dry. Tomorrow maybe a stray shower during the morning. Most locations will be dry. We're also going to have partly to mostly cloudy skies during the day tomorrow. As we head into the afternoon and the evening, there are going to be scattered showers and thunderstorms around as that cold front begins to work its way through our area. Those scattered showers and thunderstorms will continue as we go through tomorrow night, especially in locations east of I-15. And it will be cold enough tomorrow night that there is going to be some snow in the Rockies and some of the higher terrain in western Montana. And then on Thursday there will continue to be some snow in the Rockies during the morning. That snow will taper off as the day goes on. In north central Montana there will be some rain along the highline during the morning, but that rain will work its way out of our area as we go through the morning. So, Thursday afternoon and the evening will be mostly dry and mostly sunny. Some severe thunderstorms are expected later on tomorrow. So, definitely keep an eye to the sky if you are going to be outdoors at all. If we see any severe thunderstorms later on tomorrow, damaging winds are going to be the main hazard. Gusts between 60 and 80 mph are possible. And a couple isolated thunderstorms could potentially produce large hail as well. Right now north Central Montana is the bull's-eye for the best chance of seeing some damaging winds with severe thunderstorms later on tomorrow. And again, it is going to be cold enough tomorrow night and Thursday morning that there will be some snow in the Rockies, especially in Glacier National Park. For the highest peaks, we could receive over a half foot of snow accumulation. There's a winter weather advisory in effect for the West Glacier area from 12:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. on Thursday. 2 to 5 plus inches of snow above 5,000 ft. Now, as we go through tonight, the wind is going to be light in most locations. Tomorrow, in eastern portion of North Central Montana, it will be a gusty day. Gusts over 40 mph possible. In western portion of North Central Montana, we are going to have increasing wind as we head into the afternoon and the evening. Then, widespread windy conditions are expected tomorrow night and during the day on Thursday. We'll be extremely windy tomorrow night and Thursday. Gusts between 50 and 75 mph likely, and that wind is going to be coming out of the west in most spots.

[00:02:54]High fire danger is expected tomorrow, especially in northeastern Montana along portions of the high line, as well as in southwestern Montana. In these areas, a red flag warning is in effect, so please do your part to not start any new fires.

[00:03:07]And a high wind watch is in effect for a lot of North Central and northeastern Montana, as well as portions of southwestern Montana. For North Central and northeastern Montana, it's in effect from later tomorrow tomorrow night through Thursday evening or Thursday night. Gusts between 60 and 75 mph are expected. And some wind damage is possible. A mild night tonight, low temperatures are going to be in the mid to upper 40s and low 50s. A wide range of temperatures tomorrow, highs ranging from the 70s near the Rockies to the low 90s in northeastern Montana. Then, cooler for everyone on Thursday.