Elevated Fire Weather Conditions Continue Through Thursday

The Red Flag Warning for Yellowstone County expired at 9 p.m. on Tuesday night (10/6), but the National Weather Service is warning residents that the threat of wildfires will continue at least until the weekend.

Conditions for Billings will continue to be dry, with low humidity, and temperatures in the upper 70s to mid-80s through Saturday (10/10). Wind gusts on Wednesday could be 10 to 20 mph, with higher wind gusts expected on Thursday when the high temperature is in the mid-80s.

Critical fire weather conditions are predicted for areas of Yellowstone National Park on Thursday, with some areas expecting gusty winds and near-record high temperatures.

According to the National Weather Service forecasts, the soonest Billings is expected to get any significant precipitation is this Saturday night, where the current models predict a 30 percent chance of late night showers.

The cold front on Saturday night is expected to bring snow showers to higher elevations through Columbus Day weekend, with flurries expected through the Beartooth Pass on Sunday and Monday.

According to the Montana Department of Transportation, the Beartooth Highway (US-212) will close for the season on Columbus Day weekend, but could be shut down earlier if "adverse weather occurs." The Beartooth Highway will remain closed until Memorial Day weekend 2021.

Snowfall average totals from 2010 to 2019 show that Billings gets less than 1 day of snowfall in the month of October, while that number jumps to 2.5 days of snow on average in the month of November. Over the previous decade, Billings gets an average of 2.5 inches of snowfall in the month of October, with the average jumping to 3.6 inches in the month of December, according to currentresults.com.