A HEAT ADVISORY is in effect for far western Montana until 12am Friday and for north-central Montana from 12pm Thursday until 12am Friday. In western Montana, highs are going to be in the mid to upper 90s and low 100s tomorrow and Thursday, and in north-central Montana, highs are going to be in the mid to upper 90s and low 100s on Thursday.
A RED FLAG WARNING is in effect from 12pm to 10pm Wednesday and Thursday for the Flathead Reservation. Critical fire weather conditions are expected due to the combination of hot temperatures, breezy conditions, and low relative humidity, so please do your part to not start any new fires.
A FIRE WEATHER WATCH is in effect from 12pm Thursday to 10pm/12am Thursday night for a lot of western Montana and part of the Hi-Line in north-central Montana. Critical fire weather conditions are possible due to the combination of hot temperatures, breezy conditions, and low relative humidity, so please do your part to not start any new fires.
For tonight, we are going to have mainly clear skies prior to midnight and partly cloudy to mostly clear skies after midnight as a cold front begins to pass through our area. For tomorrow, we are going to have lots of sunshine once again, although there will be some cloud cover in eastern Montana during the morning. Widespread haze is also expected tonight and tomorrow.
There is also going to be a breeze around after midnight tonight in north-central and northeastern Montana with the passage of a cold front as wind gusts up to 30 mph are possible. It is then going to be gusty tomorrow in eastern Montana as wind gusts up to 40 mph are possible, and it is going to be breezy tomorrow afternoon/evening around the Helena area as wind gusts up to 30 mph are possible.
Mild temperatures are also in the forecast for tonight as lows are going to be in the 60s and upper 50s in most locations. It is then going to be very hot again tomorrow around the Helena area as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 90s and low 100s. In north-central Montana, it is going to be cooler tomorrow than it was today as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 80s and low 90s.
It is then going to be very hot again on Thursday for everyone as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 90s and low 100s, and some locations will set a new record high temperature on Thursday. It is also going to be a bit breezy on Thursday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph. Lots of sunshine, widespread haze, and mainly dry conditions are also expected on Thursday.
On Friday, it is still going to be hot, but it will be a bit cooler than it is going to be on Thursday as highs are going to range from the mid 80s to the low 100s, with the hottest temperatures in eastern Montana. We are also going to have gusty winds around on Friday, especially during the afternoon and evening, as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 30 mph, and wind gusts over 40 mph are going to be possible at times. We are also going to have partly cloudy to mostly sunny skies on Friday with some isolated showers and thunderstorms around, especially in the mountains.
Cooler, cloudier, and wetter weather is then expected this weekend and on Monday as an upper-level trough is going to be in control of our weather. It is going to be cooler on these three days as highs are going to be in the 70s and low to mid 80s in most locations. It is also going to be cloudier on these three days as we are going to have partly to mostly cloudy skies in most locations. There are also going to be scattered showers and thunderstorms around on these three days, especially during the PM hours, so it will be wetter as well.
