BILLINGS – As smoke and haze begin to clear, the chance of rain and cooler temperatures increases across the region. But there will be another change this weekend.

Nighttime temperatures will be between 10 and 15 degrees Celsius, with smoke and haze easing somewhat overnight Tuesday into Wednesday. Highs on Wednesday will be mostly 27 degrees Celsius with isolated 32 degrees Celsius east of Billings.

An approaching cold front will increase cloud cover during the day on Wednesday and bring showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening. Some of these storms may bring gusty winds and frequent lightning, increasing our fire risk.

A low pressure system will move into the region on Thursday, cooling temperatures to mainly 70 to 59 degrees. This will bring a high chance of rain to the regions, especially west of Billings, from Wednesday night into Friday morning.

Highs on Friday will be between 15 and 21 degrees Celsius, and we could even see snowfall at higher elevations up to Beartooth Pass and some mountain passes in southwest Montana. Temperatures at night will be between 40 and 13 degrees Celsius.

By the weekend, temperatures had risen again to 21 to 27 degrees by the beginning of next week. But at the moment it looks as if showers and cooler air could return in the middle of next week.