The final night of spring will be cold enough for mountain snow, and there will be a chilly rain in the lower elevations. Summer begins at 8:58am Wednesday, which is when the summer solstice occurs. Spring has been very wet for a lot of Montana and this trend will continue into the beginning of summer. Temperatures will slowly start warming up toward the end of June, but there will be more opportunities for significant rain and potential flooding including heading into this weekend. Wednesday is the first day of summer but it will be partly cloudy, breezy and cooler than average. There will be a few showers and an isolated storm or two with snow in the mountains above about 8000'. Highs will be chilly for the first day of summer, generally in the 60s with some 70s in eastern Montana. Thursday will be a much deserved nice day for most of the state with mostly sunny skies and highs in the 70s. Most of the state will be completely dry. That will be short-lived however as an area of low pressure will move into the state on Friday with increasing thunderstorms through the afternoon and evening. This storm will keep areas of rain and rumbles of thunder in Montana through Friday night into Saturday. Showers and thunderstorms will be more across central and eastern Montana by Saturday afternoon as the low moves away. Highs will be in the 60s and 70s. Sunday will be drier with just isolated thunderstorms but another round of widespread wet weather is possible Monday and Tuesday. Gradually temperatures will warm next week up through the 70s into the 80s, but the state will stay in a stormy pattern into July.
Have a great last night of spring.
Curtis Grevenitz
Chief Meteorologist
