A RED FLAG WARNING is in effect until 10pm Monday for southwestern Montana.
An AIR QUALITY ALERT is in effect for portions of western and southwestern Montana until at least 4pm Tuesday.
There is going to be widespread haze/smoke around tonight, tomorrow, and tomorrow night throughout much of Montana and this smoke is coming from wildfires burning locally in Montana as well as from wildfires burning in Idaho. In north-central Montana, the smoke will become thicker and more widespread as we go through tonight and then will decrease some during the second half of tomorrow. In central and north-central Montana, the air quality at times through tomorrow night will be unhealthy for sensitive groups. The worst air quality through tomorrow night will continue to be in portions of western and southwestern Montana where the air quality at times will be unhealthy for everyone. We are then going to have decreasing haze/smoke from north to south on Wednesday as the wind direction shifts to come out of the north.
We are going to have mostly cloudy skies tonight with a few isolated showers/storms around in north-central Montana and some scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms around Helena. It is also going to be mild tonight as lows are going to be in the mid to upper 50s and low to mid 60s.
For tomorrow, we are going to have partly cloudy skies with some scattered showers/storms around in north-central Montana, generally during the afternoon/evening, and scattered showers/storms around Helena, generally during the afternoon/evening, as an upper-level storm system begins to work its way through our area. There are then going to be a few more scattered showers/storms around tomorrow night, especially before midnight, as this storm system continues to impact our area.
A few isolated severe thunderstorms with damaging winds (58+ mph) and/or large hail (1+” in diameter) are also possible later on tomorrow. It is also going to be a bit cooler tomorrow than it was today as highs are going to range from the mid 70s to the mid 90s, with the coolest temperatures around Helena and the hottest temperatures in northeastern Montana. There is also going to be a little breeze around in some areas tomorrow as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 5 and 20 mph.
On Wednesday, we are going to have partly to mostly sunny skies with a few scattered showers/storms around, generally during the PM hours and mainly in locations east of I-15 as well as in the mountains. A few isolated severe thunderstorms with damaging winds (58+ mph) and/or large hail (1+” in diameter) are also possible on Wednesday, generally in southeastern Montana. There is also going to be a breeze around on Wednesday, mainly during the PM hours, as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph, and this wind is going to be coming out of the north. It is also going to be mild on Wednesday as highs are going to be in the 70s and low to mid 80s.
We are then going to have lots of sunshine and dry conditions Thursday through Saturday as an upper-level ridge is going to be in control of our weather. The temperatures are also going to warm up some over these three days as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 70s and low to mid 80s on Thursday; the 80s and low 90s on Friday; and the upper 80s and low to mid 90s on Saturday. It is also going to be a little breezy in some areas on Thursday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 5 and 20 mph.
Mostly sunny skies and mainly dry conditions are then expected on Sunday and Monday as a couple weak disturbances pass by our area. It is also going to continue to be hot on these two days as highs are going to be in the upper 80s and low to mid 90s in most locations.
