For 38 years, Mike Heard was the most trusted voice in southwest Montana weather — chief meteorologist for KBZK and KXLF, the forecast an entire region planned its week around. In June 2026, his position was eliminated in a statewide downsizing. He didn’t see it coming: “0% chance,” in his words.
Mike joins Outlaw Beat to talk about growing up in Butte, getting hired with zero TV experience, and why forecasting Bozeman is so hard (southwest Montana is a radar desert). We cover the super El Niño threatening this ski season, why there’s been no snow on Christmas in Bozeman, what a microburst actually is, and Mike’s brutally honest forecast for the future of local television. Plus, he plays along in “Cloudy with a Chance of BS,” where he rates your favorite weather folklore — and a science teacher finally stumps him.
Follow Mike’s new venture, Heard’s First Forecast, for hyper-local southwest Montana weather here:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61590004850751
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/15587640/join
And treat your feet to handcrafted, made-in-Texas leather boots at downtown Bozeman’s Lucchese. lucchese.com
