High temperatures are forecast the upper 90s and low 100s for central and eastern Montana today. Helena's record high for today is 102° and it'll come close to that this afternoon.
By Thursday, the ridge centered over the Desert Southwest will shift over us bringing very hot temperatures. A Heat Advisory is in place for eastern Montana from 11:00 AM to 9:00 PM Thursday with temperatures expected to soar as high as 104°.
A weak disturbance triggers a few afternoon thunderstorms on Thursday, mainly impacting areas east of I-15. The storms won't provide much rainfall, but we will see gusty winds, lightning and some cloud cover.
It also brings some relief for Friday as high temperatures will drop into the low to mid 90s. However, the heat ramps back up for the weekend with temperatures rising to the upper 90s and lower 100s.
Towards next week temperatures remain hot but daily chances for showers and thunderstorms increases a bit. The fire danger is also expected to rise with drying fuels, hot temperatures and the possibility of dry thunderstorms.
