A RED FLAG WARNING is in effect until 9pm Tuesday for a lot of Montana, and until 9pm Thursday for north-central and central Montana. Hot temperatures, gusty winds, and low relative humidity are going to allow new fire starts and current fires to grow rapidly. Please do your part to not start any new fires!
The wind is going to diminish this evening and then there is just going to be a light breeze around tonight in locations east of the Rocky Mountain Front. Along the Rocky Mountain Front, it is going to be a bit breezy this evening and tonight as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph. It is also going to be cooler tonight than it was last night as lows are going to be in the mid to upper 50s and low 60s in most locations. We are also going to have mostly clear skies tonight with some thicker haze around in spots (like Choteau, Great Falls, Lewistown, and Stanford) due to the smoke plume from the Elmo fire.
For tomorrow, we are going to have lots of sunshine, dry conditions, and hot temperatures as highs are going to be in the upper 80s and low to mid 90s in most locations. It is also going to be breezy tomorrow, especially during the afternoon and evening, as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph, and wind gusts up to 40 mph are going to be possible at times.
It is then going to be windy on Thursday, especially during the afternoon and evening, as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 15 and 30 mph, and wind gusts over 40 mph are going to be possible at times. It is also going to be hot again on Thursday as highs are going to range from the upper 80s to the low 100s. There are also going to be a few isolated showers and thunderstorms around Thursday afternoon and evening as a disturbance begins to pass through our area. We are also going to have partly cloudy to mostly sunny skies on Thursday.
Now since we are going to have gusty winds, hot temperatures, and low relative humidity tomorrow and Thursday, that means that the fire danger is going to be high, so please do your part to not start any new wildfires as all new fire starts and currently burning wildfires are going to be difficult to contain.
Cooler temperatures are then in the forecast for Friday and Saturday as highs are going to be in the 80s, and a few locations will remain in the 70s. We are also going to have less wind around on these two days, although it is still going to be a little breezy as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 5 and 20 mph. We are also going to have partly cloudy to mostly sunny skies with a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms on Friday, and we are going to have mostly to mainly sunny skies with a few isolated showers and thunderstorms around on Saturday, generally in locations east of I-15, as an upper-level trough is going to be in control of our weather.
Lots of sunshine and dry conditions are then expected on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday as high pressure is going to be in control of our weather. It is also going to be hot on these three days as highs are going to be in the 90s.
