Dry eyes in Billings, Montana

Billings winters bring cold air that holds little moisture, long stretches of indoor heat, and gusty winds off the Rockies that the National Weather Service calls chinooks. In January 2026, NWS Billings recorded an average wind of 14.1 mph and a gust of 59 mph. Those conditions speed evaporation from the eye. Quell’s directions are simple: Apply 1 drop 3 times per day in each eye.

What a chinook is

The National Weather Service glossary describes a chinook as the regional name for foehn winds in the lee of the Rocky Mountains: warm, dry gusts that form downwind of high ranges and are common in winter across the mountainous West. In Billings, that means a frigid week can give way to a mild, blustery one with very little warning.

January 2026 in Billings, by the numbers

The NWS Billings monthly report for January 2026 shows how much a single winter month can swing.

• Highest temperature: 66°F on January 14. Lowest: −6°F on January 23. That’s a 72-degree spread inside ten days.
• Average wind speed: 14.1 mph, with the strongest gust, 59 mph out of the north-northwest, on January 15.
• Precipitation: 0.07 inches against a 1991–2020 normal of 0.55 inches, and 1.0 inch of snow against a normal of 10.6 inches.
• Normal monthly mean temperature: 27.0°F.

The report doesn’t say what drove the January 14 warmth, so don’t read every warm day as a chinook. What matters for your eyes is the combination: a dry month, a lot of wind, and air that’s either bitterly cold outside or heated hard indoors.

Cold outside, furnace inside

Cold air can’t carry much water, and when a furnace warms it to room temperature its relative humidity falls further. A house in the Heights or on the West End running forced-air heat from November into April can feel parched by February. A few things help in the rooms where you spend the most time:

• Turn floor and ceiling registers so they don’t blow toward the couch or the bed.
• Keep your car’s defrost aimed at the windshield, not at your face, on the drive down 27th Street or out to the Heights.
• A humidifier in the bedroom adds moisture back; clean it as the manufacturer says.
• Keep the bottle in a drawer or cabinet, not on a windowsill that drops toward freezing at night or on top of a baseboard heater.

That last point is about the drops themselves: Store between 15° to 30°C (59° to 86°F). A truck left parked outside through a Billings January night falls far below that, so bring the bottle in with you.

Wind in other seasons

Winter isn’t the only windy stretch. NWS Billings recorded a 61 mph gust on May 13, 2026, and an average relative humidity of 48 percent that month. October was calmer, averaging 8.3 mph of wind with humidity around 60 percent, and only a trace of snow against a normal of 4.5 inches. Spring wind along the Yellowstone River valley and up on the Rimrocks catches people hiking, fishing or watching a game outdoors.

Outdoors around Billings

Ice fishing, a ski day at Red Lodge Mountain, a drive toward Yellowstone, or a cold walk along the river trail all put moving, dry air on your eyes. Goggles or wraparound sunglasses help on the slopes and the ice. If you’re heading up the Beartooth Highway in summer, remember the bottle in the glove box: cars get hot in a sunny lot even in Montana. Ski trips, cold wind and dry eyes has more for the mountains.

Where Quell fits

The tear film’s outer oil layer slows evaporation from the water layer beneath it. Quell is designed to reinforce that oil layer to help reduce moisture loss, and its label lists it For use as a protectant against further irritation or to relieve dryness of the eye. Three drops a day can be timed around your hardest hours: before a cold commute, midday at a heated desk, and early evening after time outside. Do not touch tip of bottle to any surface to avoid contamination.

Ordering to Billings

Quell ships from Brentwood, Tennessee, to addresses throughout the United States. Shipping is $10.00, free on 3 bottles, and no delivery date is promised, so winter storms on the way are worth planning for. See the Billings page and the Montana page for local information.

When to call an eye doctor

A dry, windy winter is a common reason for eyes to feel uncomfortable. If yours don’t improve when the weather turns, or your vision changes, see an eye doctor. From the label: Stop use and ask a doctor if you feel eye pain or changes in your vision, if irritation or redness continues, or if the condition worsens or persists for 72 hours.