An AIR QUALITY ALERT is in effect for all of Montana until at least 9am Thursday. Unhealthy air quality is expected.
A DENSE SMOKE ADVISORY is in effect for northeastern Montana until 9am Thursday. Visibility of 1 to 4 miles is expected in dense smoke.
A cold front brought wildfire smoke from Canada into our area yesterday and this smoke has stuck around throughout the day today. With northerly flow aloft, it is highly likely that we are going to continue to have smoky/hazy skies through at least Friday morning. This also means that we are going to continue to have poor air quality, with the air quality likely being unhealthy for everyone at times.
Later on Friday and this weekend, the flow aloft is going to switch to come out of the west, which should bring some cleaner air into our area. Some smoke and haze will probably linger around for the weekend though, it just shouldn’t be as bad as it is right now.
For tonight, we are going to have partly cloudy to mostly clear skies with a few isolated showers and thunderstorms around. It is also going to be cool tonight as lows are going to be in the 40s in many locations. The wind is also going to diminish this evening, with just a light breeze around overnight.
Outside of the haze/smoke, mostly to mainly sunny skies are expected tomorrow and Friday as high pressure is going to be in control of our weather. We are also going to have seasonable temperatures tomorrow as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 60s and low to mid 70s. It is then going to be warmer on Friday as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 70s and low to mid 80s. There is also going to be a bit of a breeze around in some areas tomorrow and Friday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph.
On Saturday and Sunday, we are going to have increasing clouds with some isolated showers and thunderstorms around during the PM hours. It is also going to be warm this weekend as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 70s and low to mid 80s on Saturday and the 80s on Sunday. Haze/smoke may also continue to be an issue this weekend.
There are then going to be some scattered showers and thunderstorms around on Monday, generally during the afternoon/evening, as a disturbance passes through our area. Isolated showers and thunderstorms are then expected on Tuesday and Wednesday as a couple more disturbances pass through our area. We are also going to have partly cloudy to mostly sunny skies on Monday and Tuesday and partly to mostly cloudy skies on Wednesday.
The temperatures are also going to cool down some between Monday and Wednesday as highs on Monday are going to be in the 70s and 80s; highs on Tuesday are going to be in the 70s and mid to upper 60s; and highs on Wednesday are going to be in the 60s and low to mid 70s. It is also going to be breezy on Monday and Tuesday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph.
