Cold Snap Forecast for Montana: The Next Arctic Blast
In Billings the coldest week is usually Dec 29 to Jan 4, with a normal low of 17°F, and the coldest night of the last 10 winters was −26°F on Jan 13, 2024.
Reading the National Weather Service forecast for Billings.
Normals and records at Billings Logan International Airport
The week with the lowest normal low at each reference station, from NOAA’s 1991 to 2020 normals, beside the coldest night of the last 10 winters, the median first freeze and the record low.
The coldest week and the coldest nights at Montana reference stations
Station
Coldest week
Normal low
Coldest night, last 10 winters
First freeze
Record low
BillingsBillings Logan International Airport, USW00024033
Dec 29 to Jan 4
17°F
−26°FJan 13, 2024
Oct 12
−32°FDec 24, 1983records since 1948
MissoulaMissoula International Airport, USW00024153
Dec 24 to 30
16°F
−22°FJan 13, 2024
Sep 30
−33°FJan 26, 1957records since 1948
Great FallsGreat Falls International Airport, USW00024143
Dec 28 to Jan 3
15°F
−37°FJan 13, 2024
Sep 26
−43°FDec 29, 1968records since 1937
GlasgowGlasgow International Airport, USW00094008
Jan 10 to 16
6°F
−37°FJan 14, 2024
Oct 6
−50°FJan 26, 1950records since 1948
Cut BankCut Bank Municipal Airport, USW00024137
Dec 27 to Jan 2
11°F
−41°FJan 13, 2024
Sep 18
−47°FFeb 15, 1936records since 1903
Normals from NOAA NCEI; nightly lows from GHCN-Daily, the winters of 2016 to 2017 through 2025 to 2026.
The panel at the top of this page sets the next 7 nights at Billings against the normal low for each date and adds the Climate Prediction Center outlook for the two weeks after. Enter a ZIP for your own town; it uses the nearest of the 5 Montana reference stations.
At Billings it is usually Dec 29 to Jan 4, with a normal low of 17°F. At the other reference stations: Missoula Dec 24 to 30 (16°F), Great Falls Dec 28 to Jan 3 (15°F), Glasgow Jan 10 to 16 (6°F) and Cut Bank Dec 27 to Jan 2 (11°F). These are NOAA's 1991 to 2020 daily normals.
The normal low at Billings reaches 32°F around Oct 30 and 20°F around Dec 11. The first actual freeze came around Oct 12 in the median of the last 10 winters, weeks ahead of the normal, because one clear calm night can run far below the average.
The coldest night of the last 10 winters at Billings was −26°F on Jan 13, 2024, and the coldest night of a typical winter there was −19°F. Elsewhere: Missoula −22°F on Jan 13, 2024, Great Falls −37°F on Jan 13, 2024 and Glasgow −37°F on Jan 14, 2024. The record at the Billings station is −32°F, on Dec 24, 1983, in daily records since 1948.
At Billings a typical recent winter brings 141 nights at 32°F or colder, 61 at 20°F or colder and 16 at zero or colder, the median of the last 10 seasons.
Each night's forecast low is compared with the NOAA normal low for that date at the nearest reference station. A night 20 or more degrees below normal is an arctic blast, and so is a night below zero where the normal low is 10°F or warmer. A night 10 to 19 below is a cold snap. A night 5 or more below, or a week that runs 3 or more below on average, is colder than normal, and a week 5 or more above is mild.
The normal lows and coldest weeks are NOAA's 1991 to 2020 daily climate normals for Billings Logan International Airport (USW00024033), Missoula International Airport (USW00024153), Great Falls International Airport (USW00024143), Glasgow International Airport (USW00094008) and Cut Bank Municipal Airport (USW00024137). The recent winters, first dates and records come from the same stations' daily lows in NOAA's GHCN-Daily archive, the winters of 2016 to 2017 through 2025 to 2026. The 7 night forecast is the National Weather Service's and the outlook is the Climate Prediction Center's.
