AN AIR QUALITY ALERT is in effect for most of northern Montana east of I-15 until at least 3pm Tuesday. The air quality may be unhealthy for sensitive groups or unhealthy for everyone at times tonight and tomorrow.
We are going to have mostly to mainly clear skies tonight with a few isolated showers and thunderstorms around in central Montana before midnight. We are also going to have increasing smoke tonight in north-central Montana, and the air quality may become unhealthy for everyone or unhealthy for sensitive groups in some areas. It is also going to be cool tonight as lows are going to be in the 50s in most locations.
For tomorrow, we are going to have lots of sunshine, with the cloud cover increasing some as we head into tomorrow evening. We are also going to have widespread smoke and haze around tomorrow morning, but the smoke/haze will gradually decrease as the day goes on. It is also going to be hot tomorrow as highs are going to be in the upper 80s and low to mid 90s in most locations, and this is likely going to be the hottest day of the next week in many locations. There is also going to be a breeze around tomorrow, especially in locations east of I-15, as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph.
Most of the daylight hours tomorrow are going to be dry, but we are going to have a chance to see some showers and thunderstorms tomorrow evening in locations around and west of I-15 as a cold front begins to approach our area. There are then going to be scattered showers and thunderstorms around tomorrow night as this cold front passes through our area. A few of the thunderstorms that we see later on tomorrow and early tomorrow night in western Montana may also be severe with 58+ mph wind gusts being the main hazard. It is also going to be breezy in locations east of I-15 in north-central Montana tomorrow night as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph.
On Wednesday, we are going to have partly to mostly cloudy skies with some scattered showers and a few thunderstorms around, especially in northern Montana, as a storm system lingers around our area. It is also going to be A LOT cooler on Wednesday than it is going to be tomorrow in central and western Montana as highs are going to be in the 60s and 70s in most locations. In eastern Montana, it is going to be cooler on Wednesday than it is going to be tomorrow, but it is still going to be very warm as highs are going to be in the 80s and low 90s.
There is also going to be a gusty to strong westerly-southwesterly breeze around on Wednesday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 15 and 35 mph, and wind gusts up to 50 mph are possible. Widespread haze is also expected on Wednesday.
The temperatures are then going to warm back up for the end of the work week as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 70s and low to mid 80s on Thursday, and the 80s and upper 70s on Friday. We are also going to have gusty winds around on Thursday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph, and wind gusts up to 40 mph are possible. It is then going to be a bit breezy on Friday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph.
We are also going to have partly cloudy skies on Thursday with a chance of showers and thunderstorms, generally during the morning and generally in locations along the Hi-Line east of I-15, as Wednesday’s storm system departs our area. Partly cloudy skies and mainly dry conditions are then expected on Friday.
The hottest day of the holiday weekend is going to be Saturday as highs are going to be in the 90s and mid to upper 80s. The temperatures are then going to cool down for the rest of the long weekend as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 70s and low to mid 80s in most locations on Sunday, and the 70s in most locations on Monday. We are also going to have mostly sunny skies and mostly dry conditions on Saturday. A few scattered showers and thunderstorms are then possible on Sunday and Monday, especially in central Montana. We are also going to have partly cloudy skies on Sunday and Monday.
