It was a beautiful weekend with cool mornings in the 40s and warm afternoons reaching into the 80s. However, breezy east-northeast winds continued to fan the flames of fires to the northwest of Helena, particularly the Windy Rock Fire near Helmville, which has grown to 3,426 acres and remains 0% contained as of Monday morning.
A beautiful Monday ahead, but will that continue for the rest of the week? Find out here:
The warm and dry weather persists today, with high temperatures in the mid to upper 80s across central and eastern Montana. Temperatures are expected to remain in this range on Wednesday and Thursday before cooling to the 70s on Thursday and Friday.
A big surge of monsoon moisture is impacting the Four Corners region, and some of this moisture will be drawn into Montana over the next several days. This will bring daily chances for showers and thunderstorms, especially in southwest Montana, throughout the workweek.
The heaviest thunderstorms are expected to impact southwest Montana, including Helena, from Tuesday through Thursday, and central Montana mainly on Thursday and Friday. Overall, most of the heavier rainfall is expected to stay south of central Montana. However, this rainfall will be extremely beneficial for firefighting efforts near Helena and across western and southwest Montana.
