Due to wildfires burning locally, and due to wildfires burning in other states throughout the western U.S., smoky and/or hazy skies are expected for the foreseeable future here in Montana. With this smoke in the air, the air quality is likely going to continue to be in the “moderate” or “unhealthy for sensitive groups” categories for the foreseeable future, so if you are sensitive to increased particulates in the atmosphere, then you may want to try and limit your time outdoors. There is also an Air Quality Alert in effect until at least 9am tomorrow morning for a decent chunk of Montana due to this poor air quality.
We are going to have decreasing clouds tonight with some isolated rain showers and thunderstorms around, generally before midnight. It is also going to be mild tonight as lows are going to be in the upper 50s and low to mid 60s.
For tomorrow, we are going to have mostly to mainly sunny skies with a few isolated rain showers and thunderstorms around, generally during the afternoon and evening. Mostly sunny skies and mainly dry conditions are then expected on Saturday as high pressure is going to be in control of our weather. We are then going to have partly to mostly cloudy skies with a slight chance of PM rain showers and thunderstorms on Sunday as some monsoonal moisture tries to return to our area.
It is also going to be hot tomorrow and this weekend as highs are going to be in the low to mid 90s in most locations. There is also going to be a little bit of a breeze around in eastern Montana and along the Hi-Line tomorrow afternoon/evening as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 15 mph. Breezy conditions are then expected Saturday afternoon/evening and Sunday afternoon/evening along the Hi-Line and in central Montana as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph. Also, since it is going to be hot, dry, and breezy this weekend, critical fire weather conditions are expected.
We are then going to have a good chance to see some rain showers and thunderstorms Monday afternoon/evening, Monday night, and Tuesday as a stronger disturbance works its way through our area. Right now, this is looking like it is going to be the most widespread rain event that we have had in weeks with rainfall amounts over a quarter inch possible for many towns and cities in central Montana. We are also going to have partly to mostly cloudy skies on Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday is then going to have mostly sunny skies and mostly dry conditions. We are then going to have a chance to see a few more rain showers and thunderstorms next Thursday.
The temperatures next week are also going to be cooler than the temperatures over the next few days are going to be as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 80s in most locations. It is also going to be a breezy on Monday along the Hi-Line as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph. There is then going to be a little bit of a breeze around along the Hi-Line on Tuesday and Wednesday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 15 mph.
