Billings, Montana Weather
Thunder retreats as the monsoon dies. Day 93 of summer. Read this microseason across nine climate regions →
Billings weather forecast — hour by hour, 7-day outlook, NOAA radar
Conditions updated 8:25 AM MDT · Open-Meteo
- TodaySep 21Clear later——71°53°—
- TuesdaySep 22Clear16%—78°50°+7°
- WednesdaySep 23Overcast40%—79°61°+1°
- ThursdaySep 24Clear——84°59°+5°
- FridaySep 25Overcast——89°59°+5°
- SaturdaySep 26Overcast——65°51°-24°
- SundaySep 27Drizzle18%—72°48°+7°
Air quality now AQI 27 · Good
AQI 27 (Good), driven by PM2.5. AQI flat over the last 6 hours (within ±3 points). PM2.5 at 5.0 µg/m³ (AQI 28) with a 0.98 fine-to-coarse ratio and 3 mph wind — combustion smoke trapped in stagnant air, not road dust.
OK No precautions needed for the general population; unusually sensitive individuals may consider limiting prolonged outdoor exertion during the projected peak around 8 PM.
What's driving it
PM × Wind × Precip
PM2.5 at 5.0 µg/m³ (AQI 28) with a 0.98 fine-to-coarse ratio and 3 mph wind — combustion smoke trapped in stagnant air, not road dust.
- PM2.5/PM10
- 0.98
- Wind
- calm
- Recent rain
- 0h in last 6h
- Pattern
- stagnant smoke
Trends
Seven days of AQI and PM2.5.
Hourly air-quality data from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, charted across the past and next several days. Dashed lines mark the AQI breakpoints at 50 (Good → Moderate) and 100 (Moderate → Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups).
September dries up ditches or breaks down bridges.
- Moonrise
- 5:07 PM
- Moonset
- 1:17 AM
- In sign
- ♑︎ Capricorn
Thunder retreats as the monsoon dies
Read this microseason across nine climate regions →
All 72 microseasons on the year wheel →
Billings at a glance
- Today vs. normal: Today averages 62°F (high 71°F, low 53°F), 3°F above the 59°F normal for Sep 21
- Last frost: May 4 (1991–2020 median, NOAA station 2 km away)
- Microseason: Sep 21–25
- Planting calendar: September — plant garlic (overwinter); harvest tomatoes, peppers, beans, summer squash, winter squash, fall brassicas, carrots
16-Day Forecast — Billings
- Mon71°53°0%
- Tue78°50°16%
- Wed79°61°40%
- Thu84°59°1%
- Fri89°59°8%
- Sat65°51°9%
- Sun72°48°18%
- Mon68°51°21%
- Tue65°49°8%
- Wed74°48°2%
- Thu74°50°8%
- Fri66°51°12%
- Sat54°41°13%
- Sun65°38°10%
- Mon73°46°6%
- Tue70°53°3%
Forecast data from Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0).
Live wind & temperature near Billings
Interactive wind and temperature map centered on Billings — it loads in your browser. Open the full weather map.
Right now in the garden
Fall planting + final harvests
As of September 21, the season's first frost (typically October 7) is approaching. Pick what frost-tender plants still carry before the next cold front. This city's planting calendar for September: plant garlic (overwinter); harvest tomatoes, peppers, beans, summer squash, winter squash, fall brassicas, and carrots.
SPC Convective Outlook
Storm Prediction Center — Billings
SPC includes Billings in the general thunderstorm area tomorrow — no severe risk, but storms are possible.
- TODAYNONENo severe risk
- TOMORROWTSTMGeneral Thunderstorms
- DAY 3NONENo severe risk
Thunderstorms possible. Not severe, but capable of producing lightning and brief heavy rain.
Source: NOAA / NWS Storm Prediction Center categorical convective outlook.
Sun & seasons in Billings
Billings sits in Yellowstone County, where the year’s longest day runs 15h 43m of daylight and its shortest just 8h 40m — a swing of +7h 4m between the June and December solstices. Clocks spring forward on Sunday, March 8, 2026 and fall back on Sunday, November 1, 2026.
Billings is the state’s largest city. The nearest town Billings tracks is Sunnybrook Colony, roughly 193 miles to the NNW.
Air quality in Billings
Air quality in Billings’s county has held roughly steady since 2020; its cleanest year on record was 2023 (median AQI 29). See the full air-quality history for Billings.
Planting calendar
| Month | Plant | Harvest |
|---|---|---|
| April | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes | — |
| May | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes | lettuce, spinach, radishes |
| June | tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes |
| July | tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash, fall brassicas, carrots | lettuce, peas, spinach, beans, summer squash, garlic |
| August | — | tomatoes, peppers, beans, summer squash, garlic |
| September | garlic (overwinter) | tomatoes, peppers, beans, summer squash, winter squash, fall brassicas, carrots |
| October | — | tomatoes, peppers, beans, summer squash, winter squash, fall brassicas, carrots |
A year in weather
Billings peaks at about 73°F in July and bottoms near 27°F in January; May brings the heaviest rain (2.4 inches) and January the least (0.6 inches).
| Month | Mean temp | Precip | Rainy days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27° | 0.6″ | 7 |
| February | 29° | 0.6″ | 7 |
| March | 38° | 0.9″ | 9 |
| April | 46° | 1.7″ | 10 |
| May | 55° | 2.4″ | 12 |
| June | 65° | 2.2″ | 11 |
| July | 73° | 1.2″ | 8 |
| August | 72° | 0.9″ | 6 |
| September | 61° | 1.4″ | 7 |
| October | 48° | 1.4″ | 8 |
| November | 36° | 0.6″ | 6 |
| December | 28° | 0.6″ | 6 |
Regional context
Similar climates Lockwood, MT, Acton, MT, Laurel, MT
Per NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals, Billings runs from a 27°F January mean to 73°F in July, a 46°F seasonal spread, with near 14.3 inches of precipitation across about 97 wet days.
Billings's rain peaks in summer: May brings 2.4 inches over 12.2 thunderstorm-fed days, while January sees just 0.6 inches across 6.6 days under cooler, drier air. That summer-storm rhythm groups Billings with places like Lockwood, MT, Acton, MT and Laurel, MT.
Billings reaches its last hard frost near May 4; that is the cue for kale, peas, spinach, and parsnips. Billings's heat-lovers — tomatoes, peppers, squash — hold off until Billings's frost risk clears, 10-14 days on. Frost returns to Billings near October 7, ending the tender-crop season. That date is a median: Billings freezes sooner in half of years.
Similar climates: Lockwood, MT, Acton, MT, Laurel, MT, Huntley, MT, Shepherd, MT.
Frequently asked
- When does it freeze in Billings?
- Frost typically leaves Billings by May 4 and returns to Billings near October 7.
- What is the rainy season in Billings?
- Billings sees its heaviest rain in May (around 2.4 inches), part of roughly 14 inches a year.
- What is the warmest month in Billings?
- Billings peaks in July, when the mean runs near 73°F.
- What is the coldest month in Billings?
- January is Billings's coldest month, averaging about 27°F.
- When can I start a vegetable garden in Billings?
- Around May 4, start frost-hardy crops in Billings; tomatoes and basil belong a fortnight later.
- How many rainy days does Billings get?
- Billings records around 97 days of measurable precipitation annually.
- What hardiness zone is Billings?
- Since January in Billings averages 27°F, Billings's USDA zone follows that floor — confirm it by ZIP.
- What is the 10-day forecast for Billings?
- Billings's extended outlook — daily high and low temperatures and precipitation chances for each upcoming day — is in the daily forecast above.
- Will it rain this week in Billings?
- See this week's day-by-day rain chances for Billings in the daily forecast above, and the next 24 hours in the hourly chart.
- What is the weather like right now in Billings?
- Current conditions for Billings and the next 24 hours — temperature, precipitation chance, and wind by the hour — are in the hourly forecast chart above.
- How often is the Billings forecast updated?
- The Billings forecast on this page is built from Open-Meteo weather-model data and refreshes regularly through the day.
- When are sunrise and sunset in Billings?
- Today's sunrise and sunset times for Billings are in the Almanac section above, along with civil dawn, civil dusk, and day length. Day length is longest near the summer solstice and shortest near the winter solstice.
- How accurate is the weather forecast for Billings?
- The next few days in Billings's forecast are the most reliable; accuracy declines beyond about a week as weather-model uncertainty grows.
Billings sits at 45.8°N; its climate zone is cold semi-arid (Köppen approximation).
ZIP codes in Billings
- 59101
- 59102
- 59104
- 59105
- 59106
- 59107
- 59108
- 59115
- 59116
- 59117