Forecast confidence: Medium· models disagree by 7°F
Helena weather
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Cloudy,much the same tomorrow
NWS, the American and the European model put Helena's high today between 39° and 46°, a 7° split. Tomorrow: cloudy, around 38°, with a 0% chance of rain.
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The weather map: all three models at once
NWS, American, European side by side around Helena and nearby towns.Live rain radar →
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Helena hourly forecast: next 14 hours
consensus of the three models
Rain in the next 24 hours, model by model
each model's own hourly precipitation, side by side
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Helena 10-day forecast, out to 14 days
where the models agree, and where they split
Today
Cloudy
42°22°
±7°
Tomorrow
Cloudy
38°26°
±6°
Mon
Partly cloudy
46°26°
±6°
Tue
Light snow
48°35°
±7°
Wed
Light snow
45°30°
±7°
Thu
Light snow
48°30°
±17°
Fri
Light snow
45°31°
±11°
Sat
Light snow
46°29°
±7°
Sun
Mostly clear
49°28°
±14°
Mon
Light snow
50°32°
±11°
Tue
Mostly clear
55°34°
±11°
Wed
Clear
53°36°
±10°
Thu
Cloudy
56°38°
±17°
Helena is a small town of about 32,000 people in Montana (MT), sitting at 46.6°N in a temperate climate zone. NWS, American, European each forecast Helena with their own physics, so we line all three up and flag where they disagree. Nearby towns include Helena Valley West Central, Helena Valley Southeast, Butte.
30 years of daily data, 1995-2024, shown as change
+0.6°F
Around Helena, the difference between 1995-2004 and 2015-2024 is +0.6°F, within the normal swing from year to year.
1995each stripe is one year2024
cooler than averagearound averagewarmer than average
Days above 86°F
2 more days a year
2015-2024 against 1995-2004. Within the normal year-to-year swing
Frost nights
12 fewer nights a year
2015-2024 against 1995-2004, below 32°F. Within the normal year-to-year swing
Average wind
no clear change
2015-2024 against 1995-2004. Within the normal year-to-year swing
Bars: each year against the area's 30-year average. Dashed lines: the average of the first and the last ten years.
See the numbers year by year
Year
Temp vs average
Days >86°F vs avg
Frost nights vs avg
Wind vs avg
1995
−0.6°F
−9
+15
+0%
1996
−2.4°F
−6
+12
−3%
1997
−1.5°F
−13
+7
+0%
1998
+1.0°F
+1
−8
−6%
1999
+0.4°F
−4
+6
+4%
2000
+0.1°F
+10
+8
+0%
2001
+1.3°F
+3
+5
−3%
2002
−0.8°F
+0
+18
+0%
2003
+1.7°F
+18
−3
−3%
2004
+0.3°F
−5
−6
−3%
2005
+0.1°F
+2
−7
−3%
2006
+1.0°F
+4
−0
+4%
2007
+1.0°F
+18
−2
+4%
2008
−2.3°F
−2
+10
+4%
2009
−1.9°F
−10
+18
+0%
2010
−2.1°F
−13
−0
−6%
2011
−1.2°F
−7
+1
+7%
2012
+1.3°F
+6
−3
+4%
2013
+0.1°F
+1
+4
+4%
2014
−0.8°F
−10
−8
+4%
2015
+2.1°F
−2
−17
−3%
2016
+1.2°F
−5
−19
+4%
2017
+0.1°F
+4
+7
+0%
2018
−1.0°F
−8
−4
−3%
2019
−2.6°F
−9
+10
−6%
2020
+0.3°F
−5
−0
+7%
2021
+1.5°F
+17
−3
+0%
2022
+0.3°F
+16
−9
+4%
2023
+1.2°F
−3
−21
−10%
2024
+2.6°F
+11
−10
−3%
Source: NASA POWER daily data from the MERRA-2 reanalysis, 1995-2024. Each value describes a grid square of about 50 km around Helena, not a weather station, and a square that takes in sea or a large lake runs milder than the city itself. That is why this section shows change against the square's own 30-year average rather than counts you could compare with a local station. Rain and snow are left out because their long-term record in this dataset is not consistent over time. "Within the normal year-to-year swing" means the change is smaller than the usual differences between single years.
Which forecast is most accurate in Helena?
CheckWeather Score, graded against the weather that actually happened
Provider
CheckWeather-score
Temp
Wind
Rain
Run by
European ★ Best
94
/100rank #1
91±0.9°F
96±1.4 mph
9597% hit
ECMWF - European Centre for Medium-Range Weather ForecastsReading, United Kingdom
American
83
/100rank #2
80±2.0°F
90±3.2 mph
8290% hit
NOAA / NCEP (United States)College Park, Maryland, USA
The accuracy above is the measured record. This is your opinion: which forecast service do you trust most in United States? Give each 1 to 5 stars.
NWSNational Blend (NBM)
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AmericanNOAA GFS
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EuropeanECMWF
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One vote per service. Anonymous: we store no personal data, only a one-way hash of your connection for a day to stop double votes.
Where the models disagree
temperature and rain, judged separately
Day
Temperature
Rain
Today
±7°39° to 46°
models agree0% to 0% chance
Tomorrow
±6°36° to 42°
models agree0% to 0% chance
Mon
±6°42° to 49°
±11%12% to 23% chance
Tue
±7°44° to 51°
models agree33% to 33% chance
Wed
±7°41° to 48°
±15%16% to 31% chance
The models often agree on temperature and still split on rain, and rain is usually what decides whether a plan survives. A wide rain range means the shower is genuinely uncertain, not that the forecast is wrong.
Sunrise and sunset in Helena
today, local time
Sunrise
07:58
Sunset
18:25
Daylight
10h 27m
Common questions
What's the weather in Helena today?
Saturday, October 24: NWS, the American and the European model put Helena's high today between 39° and 46°, a 7° split. Tomorrow: cloudy, around 38°, with a 0% chance of rain. The forecast on this page refreshes live.
Will it rain in Helena today or tomorrow?
Rain looks unlikely in Helena on Sunday, October 25: no model gives more than 0% (NWS 0%, American 0%, European 0%). On Saturday, October 24 the highest chance of rain from any model is 0%. The hourly strip and the model-by-model rain panel above update live.
Which forecast is most accurate for Helena?
Over the last 30 days, the European model has been the most accurate for Helena (CheckWeather Score 94/100), ahead of the American at 83. We grade every model against the recorded weather. See the US accuracy scoreboard for the full method.
Is Helena getting warmer?
Not clearly. In NASA's reanalysis for the area around Helena, the difference between 1995-2004 and 2015-2024 is 0.6°F, within the normal swing from year to year.