045
FNUS75 KTFX 161748
FWSTFX

Spot Forecast for Symphony Under the Stars 2026...Lewis and Clark County
National Weather Service Great Falls MT
Issued by National Weather Service Missoula MT
1148 AM MDT Thu Jul 16 2026

Forecast is based on forecast start time of 1200 MDT on July 17.
If conditions become unrepresentative...contact the National Weather
Service.

.DISCUSSION...

Scattered to widespread showers and thunderstorms develop late
Friday afternoon around the Helena Valley, continuing through the
rest of the evening. The best window for precipitation is 1600
Friday to 0000 Saturday. Strong wind gusts in excess of 40 mph,
large hail, and heavy rainfall will be possible with any stronger
thunderstorm. Chances for showers and thunderstorms Saturday will
be more isolated (30% chance). However, there is an isolated
chance for a stronger shower or thunderstorm producing wind gusts
in excess of 30 mph, small hail, and heavy rain. The best window
for precipitation Saturday is 1700-2200. Outside of thunderstorms,
prevailing wind speeds will be lighter.

.FRIDAY...

Sky/weather.........Sunny (10-20 percent) then becoming partly
                    sunny (55-65 percent). Chance of showers and
                    thunderstorms.
Chance of pcpn......50 percent.
Chance of lightning.42 percent.
Max temperature.....92-97.
Min humidity........29-34 percent.
Surface winds (mph).Northeast winds around 5 mph shifting to the
                    south late in the afternoon.
Pcpn amount.........0.25 inches.

TIME (MDT)      12P 1PM 2PM 3PM 4PM 5PM
Sky (%).........8   25  51  56  67  66
Weather cov.....    SCH CHC CHC CHC CHC
Weather type....    RW  RW  RW  RW  RW
Tstm cov........    SCH SCH CHC CHC CHC
Chc of pcpn (%).10  20  30  30  50  50
Chc of ltng (%).0   20  20  40  40  40
Temp............86  89  91  92  90  89
RH..............46  41  37  34  36  38
Surface wnd dir.E   NE  E   SE  S   S
Surface wnd spd.5   5   5   5   5   5
Surface wnd gst.10  15  15  15  15  15


.FRIDAY NIGHT...

Sky/weather.........Mostly cloudy (75-85 percent) then becoming
                    mostly clear (15-25 percent). Showers likely
                    and chance of thunderstorms in the evening.
Chance of pcpn......70 percent.
Chance of lightning.41 percent.
Min temperature.....59-64.
Max humidity........73-78 percent.
Surface winds (mph).Northeast winds around 5 mph shifting to the
                    southwest late in the evening, then becoming
                    light overnight.
Pcpn amount.........0.25 inches.


TIME (MDT)      6PM 7PM 8PM 9PM 10P 11P MID 1AM 2AM 3AM 4AM 5AM
Sky (%).........83  83  83  93  93  93  65  65  65  22  22  22
Weather cov.....CHC CHC LKY LKY CHC CHC
Weather type....RW  RW  RW  RW  RW  RW
Tstm cov........CHC CHC CHC SCH SCH SCH
Chc of pcpn (%).40  50  70  60  40  30  10  10  0   0   0   10
Chc of ltng (%).40  40  40  20  20  20  10  10  10  0   0   0
Temp............87  84  82  79  75  74  73  70  68  66  64  63
RH..............40  43  47  51  60  61  63  71  73  75  77  77
Surface wnd dir.NE  NE  NE  SW  SW  SW  SW  SW  SW  SW  SW  SW
Surface wnd spd.5   5   5   5   5   5   0   0   0   0   0   0
Surface wnd gst.15  15  15  10  10  10  5   5   5   5   5   5


.SATURDAY...

Sky/weather.........Sunny (20-30 percent). Slight chance of showers
                    and thunderstorms in the afternoon.
Chance of pcpn......30 percent.
Chance of lightning.26 percent.
Max temperature.....92-97.
Min humidity........22-27 percent.
Surface winds (mph).Light winds becoming northeast around 5 mph
                    early in the afternoon, then shifting to the
                    northwest late in the afternoon.
Pcpn amount.........0.05 inches.


TIME (MDT)      6AM 7AM 8AM 9AM 10A 11A 12P 1PM 2PM 3PM 4PM 5PM
Sky (%).........33  33  33  11  11  11  35  35  35  35  35  35
Weather cov.....                        SCH SCH SCH SCH SCH SCH
Weather type....                        RW  RW  RW  RW  RW  RW
Tstm cov........                        SCH SCH SCH SCH SCH SCH
Chc of pcpn (%).0   0   0   0   0   0   20  20  20  20  20  20
Chc of ltng (%).0   0   0   0   0   0   20  20  20  30  30  30
Temp............62  64  67  70  75  80  84  88  90  92  93  92
RH..............78  76  70  63  56  49  43  37  32  28  26  26
Surface wnd dir.S   S   S   S   S   S   NE  NE  NE  NW  NW  NW
Surface wnd spd.0   0   0   0   0   0   5   5   5   5   5   5
Surface wnd gst.5   5   5   5   5   5   10  10  10  15  15  15


$$
Forecaster...Wilson
Requested by...Kyle Sturgill-Simon
Type of request...OTHER
.TAG 2617362.0/TFX
.DELDT 07/16/26
.FormatterVersion 2.0.0
.EMAIL kss@lccountymt.gov, tfx.ops@noaa.gov