High temperaturesForecast day 1
2.5°Ftypical miss
0°3°F8°+
74% came within 3°F
Usually coolerUsually warmer1.1°F warmer than observed
Local temperature forecast performance
How accurate are temperature forecasts in Billings, Montana?
Daytime highs were the harder part of the next-day temperature forecast in Billings. Highs missed by 2.5°F on average, compared with 2.2°F for nighttime lows.
See the current Billings forecast
Opens ZIP 59101 using the nearest current station, which may differ from the archive station below.
What stands out
Billings forecast findings
- The strongest monthly directional tendency appeared in March highs, when forecasts averaged 3.2°F warmer than observed.
- Error increased more quickly for daily high forecasts. From forecast day 1 to day 7, their typical miss grew by 3.9°F; day-7 errors reached 6.4°F for highs and 4.3°F for lows.
- On forecast day 1, July lows had the smallest typical miss (1.3°F), while March highs had the largest (3.5°F).
- Across days 1, 3, 5, and 7, Billings was close to the national archive average, with less than 0.2°F separating them.
At a glance
Forecast day 1 accuracy
Highs Lows
Close to the national average
Billings: 3.7°F typical miss National archive average: 3.5°F
Combined high and low results across forecast days 1, 3, 5, and 7.Low temperaturesForecast day 1
2.2°Ftypical miss
0°3°F8°+
76% came within 3°F
Usually coolerUsually warmer0.3°F warmer than observed
Error generally grows farther into the forecast
The dots show the typical miss on each forecast day.
See within-3°F percentages and window timing
Day 1High: 74%Low: 76%
Day 3High: 59%Low: 66%
Day 5High: 48%Low: 61%
Day 7High: 36%Low: 51%
High and low windows represent the same numbered forecast day, but the high window ends 12 hours later and therefore has 12 more hours of lead time.
How forecasts change through the year
Each tile is forecast day 1’s typical miss.
Under 2°F2–3°F3–5°FOver 5°FNot enough data
Forecasts ran coolerLittle tendencyForecasts ran warmer
High temperatures
Jan2.0°62 cases
Feb2.6°55 cases
Mar3.5°59 cases
Apr2.6°60 cases
May2.3°59 cases
Jun2.2°60 cases
Jul2.1°58 cases
Aug2.4°60 cases
Sep2.1°60 cases
Oct2.2°62 cases
Nov2.6°53 cases
Dec3.0°57 cases
Low temperatures
Jan2.5°62 cases
Feb2.5°55 cases
Mar3.3°60 cases
Apr2.1°60 cases
May1.7°59 cases
Jun1.6°60 cases
Jul1.3°58 cases
Aug1.6°61 cases
Sep2.2°60 cases
Oct2.4°62 cases
Nov2.4°53 cases
Dec2.8°57 cases
Data locationBILLINGS/LOGAN INTL (BIL)3.0 miles from central Billings · Archive 2024-08-01–2026-07-28
Based on archived raw NBM forecasts compared with observed daily highs and lows near Billings. Results describe this model archive, not every forecast provider.
How these numbers are calculated
The forecasts are raw NBM median temperature guidance initialized at 12Z. Results include multiple NBM model eras and are retrospective, so they describe this archive rather than guaranteeing future performance.
“Typical miss” is mean absolute error: the average size of the error regardless of direction. Warmer or cooler tendency is signed bias, which can be small even when individual errors are larger.