Temperatures plunged nearly 40 degrees in just over 24 hours in Baker, Montana, after a cold front barreled through the region Tuesday night and brought stormy conditions on Wednesday.
The sudden drop in temperatures comes only a day after the same city broke the record daily high on Tuesday, when temperatures hit 95 degrees around 1:11 p.m. As of 3:49 p.m. Wednesday, the temperature was measured at 57 degrees, a 38-degree difference.
“A couple of daily records were set yesterday. Baker’s high of 95° broke the old record of 92° set in 2000, and Livingston’s precip of 0.89″ tied its record set in 1975,” the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Billings, Montana, posted to X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday morning.
A couple of daily records were set yesterday. Baker’s high of 95° broke the old record of 92° set in 2000, and Livingston’s precip of 0.89″ tied its record set in 1975. #mtwx
— NWS Billings (@NWSBillings) September 18, 2024
Alexandra D. Urban/Getty
NWS meteorologist Logan Torgerson told Newsweek that the cold front passing through on Tuesday brought a thunderstorm with it, which led to the sudden drop in temperatures as the low-pressure system delivered heavy precipitation.
The storm has already produced up to 8 inches of snow in the higher elevations of the Absaroka/Beartooth Mountains west of Baker. The storm also brought widespread rainfall throughout the region, although Baker saw rainfall totals of only 0.2 inches. Other areas in the Billings forecast region, such as Park and Yellowstone counties, have already endured more than 3 inches of rain, according to an NWS report. Torgerson said that the storm caused “abnormally high precipitation” for this time of year.
“Heavy wet snow occurring. Additional snow accumulations up to two inches. Highest accumulations above 9000 ft. Winds gusting as high as 50 mph,” a winter storm warning for the area said. “Recreation in the high country will be impacted by heavy accumulating snow.”
The warning is expected to remain in place until 6 p.m. Wednesday night.
In addition to the warning, several weather advisories are in place for the Billings forecast area due to the storm, including a high-wind warning, flood watch and several other alerts.
The normal high for Baker during this time of year is 73 degrees, Torgerson said. Temperatures are expected to return to normal “pretty quickly.”
“By tomorrow, Baker temperatures will be around 70,” he added. “On Friday, they will be back to above-normal temperatures in the high 70s, near 80.”
A six- to 10-day temperature outlook published by the NWS Climate Prediction Center shows that all of Montana has a chance to experience above-average temperatures from September 23 to September 27. Montana also will have a below-average chance for precipitation during the same time period.
