The heat is going to continue to be the big story for the rest of the work week. A Heat Advisory is in effect for central Montana until 9pm on Friday as high temperatures are going to be in the mid to upper 90s and lower 100s for the rest of the work week. There is also an Excessive Heat Watch in effect for eastern Montana from noon on Thursday until 6pm on Saturday as high temperatures are going to be in the lower 100s. Thankfully, even though it is going to be hot during the day, at least we are going to get some relief from the heat at night as lows are going to be in the upper 50s and low to mid 60s for the rest of the work week.
Now since it is going to be hot this week, make sure you limit your time outdoors during the heat of the day, and if you do have to be outside at all, make sure you stay hydrated; wear loose-fitting and light-colored clothing; take frequent breaks in the shade or AC; and avoid doing strenuous activities. Also, make sure you frequently check in on family members and neighbors this week to make sure that they are doing okay, and make sure you NEVER leave any pets or humans in a closed car as temperatures inside a car can get very hot very quickly.
In terms of cloud cover, we are not going to have much around in the short-term as we are going to have clear skies tonight, sunny skies tomorrow, and clear skies tomorrow night as a strong upper level ridge is going to be in control of our weather. Dry conditions are also expected tonight, tomorrow, and tomorrow night. On Thursday, we are going to start the day off with a lot of sunshine, but the cloud cover is going to be on the increase during the afternoon and evening as some monsoonal moisture tries to work its way into our area. A couple isolated rain showers and thunderstorms are also possible Thursday afternoon and evening, although most locations are going to remain dry. Friday is then going to have increasing clouds throughout the day with some isolated rain showers and thunderstorms around during the afternoon and evening as southwesterly flow aloft brings some monsoonal moisture into our area.
As we head into tomorrow, there is going to be a little bit of a breeze around, especially along the Hi-Line and in eastern Montana, as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 5 and 20 mph. It is then going to be breezy on Thursday in eastern Montana and along the Hi-Line as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph. There is also a Fire Weather Watch in effect from 9am Thursday until midnight on Friday for most of eastern Montana as critical fire weather conditions are possible. Breezy conditions are then expected again on Friday in eastern Montana as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph.
There are then going to be some scattered rain showers and thunderstorms around on Saturday, generally during the afternoon and evening, and we are going to have a chance to see some rain showers and thunderstorms on Sunday, generally during the afternoon and evening, as some monsoonal moisture works its way into our area. We are also going to have partly cloudy to mostly sunny skies on these two days. This cloud cover and moisture is also going to cool the temperatures down just a touch this weekend as highs are going to be in the low to mid 90s in most locations. There is also going to be a bit of a breeze around this weekend in eastern Montana and along the Hi-Line as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph.
On Monday, we are going to have partly cloudy to mostly sunny skies with a few isolated rain showers and thunderstorms around, generally during the afternoon and evening. Mostly sunny skies and mostly dry conditions are then expected on Tuesday. It is also going to be hot on these two days as highs are going to be in the low to mid 90s. There is also going to be a bit of a breeze around on Monday in eastern Montana and along the Hi-Line as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph.
