High temperatures spike into the upper 80s and low to mid 90s with mainly sunny skies, though a few storms will develop over southwest Montana during the afternoon. A stray storm could get as far north as Helena.
The wind will also get a little gusty in the afternoon with wind speeds between 15 and 30 mph for the Rocky Mountain Front and 10 and 20 mph across the plains.
We're going to have scattered gusty storms around on Saturday, with gusty winds and lightning the main hazards. Make sure to have a way to receive weather alerts if you're planning to be outside or heading to the Montana State Fair in Great Falls or the Central Montana Fair in Lewistown.
A majority of the weekend is going to be dry, but don't let the storms catch you off guard. A couple of the storms could go severe with severe (58+ mph) wind gusts, hail (1"+ diameter), and cloud-to-ground lightning.
A stormy weather pattern continues into next week as southwest flow draws in some monsoonal moisture. This will lead to daily storm chances throughout next week, and some of the storms could be on the stronger side.
High temps this weekend will be in the 80s and low 90s and then cooling a little it into Sunday with highs in the upper 70s and 80s. Next week temperatures fall a little bit below average for the end of July as highs are going to be in the upper 70s and 80s.
