Another sunny, hot, and dry day today in Montana, and for most of us, today has been the hottest day that we have had since early July. It has also been gusty today in western and central Montana, which has elevated the fire danger, and a RED FLAG WARNING remains in effect until 8pm/9pm this evening for the Flathead Reservation and southwestern Montana.
Lows tonight will be in the 50s in most spots. We are going to have mostly clear skies tonight, with the cloud cover increasing some during the second half of the night as a cold front begins to pass through our area. It is also going to be hazy in some areas tonight, and the air quality will drop down into the “moderate” category in some locations. A couple stray showers are also possible along the Hi-Line after midnight, but most locations will be dry.
The cold front will push southward through Montana tomorrow, providing us with cooler temperatures. Highs tomorrow in north-central Montana will be in the 70s and low 80s. Around Helena, highs tomorrow are going to be in the 80s as the cold front will pass through that area later in the day. We are also going to have partly cloudy to mostly sunny skies tomorrow in north-central Montana with a couple stray showers/storms along the Hi-Line during the morning and we are going to have mainly sunny skies and dry conditions tomorrow around Helena.
Check out the full forecast:
The wind will also be weaker tomorrow than it was today, but it is still going to be a little breezy as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 5 and 20 mph, with the strongest wind along the Rocky Mountain Front and the Continental Divide. There is also a RED FLAG WARNING in effect for portions of southwestern Montana tomorrow afternoon/evening.
On Friday, we are going to have partly cloudy skies and mostly dry conditions (just a few isolated showers/storms around). It is also going to be warm on Friday as highs are going to be in the upper 70s and low to mid 80s. There will also be a good breeze along the Rocky Mountain Front on Friday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph, and it will be a little breezy out across the plains on Friday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 5 and 20 mph.
It will continue to be a little hazy tomorrow, with more haze expected on Friday as wildfire smoke from fires burning throughout the Pacific Northwest filters into the state. This haze may cause the air quality to drop down into the “moderate” category at times.
Saturday will feature spectacular summer weather with mostly sunny skies, mostly dry conditions (just a few isolated PM showers/storms), and hot temperatures as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 80s and low 90s in most locations. It is also going to be a little breezy again on Saturday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 5 and 20 mph.
There are then going to be some scattered showers and thunderstorms around the Helena area Sunday afternoon/evening and there are going to be a few scattered showers and thunderstorms around in north-central Montana Sunday afternoon/evening, generally in the mountains and east of I-15, as a stronger disturbance impacts the state. We are also going to have partly to mostly sunny skies and warm temperatures on Sunday as highs are going to be in the 80s.
Another disturbance will impact Montana on Monday producing some isolated showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening, generally in the mountains. We are also going to have mostly sunny skies on Monday. It is then going to be mainly sunny and mainly dry on Tuesday and Wednesday as an upper-level ridge is going to be in complete control of our weather. It is also going to be hot on these three days as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 80s and low to mid 90s.
