We have had decreasing haze/smoke throughout the day today, but the haze/smoke will re-increase tonight in north-central and eastern Montana. Widespread haze is then expected tomorrow and Wednesday in north-central and eastern Montana, with embedded areas of thicker smoke, especially in northeastern Montana and along the Hi-Line east of I-15. For the next two days, the air quality will generally be in the “moderate” or “unhealthy for sensitive groups” categories in most locations, but at times, the air quality may be unhealthy for everyone, especially where there is some thicker haze/smoke. This haze and smoke is primarily from wildfires burning in Canada.
It was sunny, dry, and hot today as high pressure was in control of our weather, and a few locations did tie or set a new record high temperature. Tonight, we are going to have mainly clear skies and mild temperatures as lows are going to be in the 50s in most locations. Most locations will also remain dry tonight, but a couple isolated showers/storms are possible along the eastern half of the Hi-Line.
For tomorrow, we are going to have increasing clouds with some scattered showers and thunderstorms around during the afternoon/evening, generally in central Montana and western portions of north-central Montana. A couple of these thunderstorms may turn severe with damaging winds (58+ mph) and/or large hail (1+” in diameter). It is also going to be a little cooler tomorrow than it was today, but it is still going to be very warm as highs are going to be in the 80s in most locations. There is also going to be a bit of a breeze around tomorrow along the Hi-Line east of I-15 and in eastern portions of north-central Montana as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 5 and 20 mph.
On Wednesday, we are going to have partly to mostly cloudy skies with some scattered showers and thunderstorms around, especially during the afternoon/evening. Once again, a couple of these thunderstorms may turn severe, especially in central and southern Montana, with damaging winds and/or large hail being the main hazards. It is also going to be cooler on Wednesday as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 70s and low to mid 80s, and it is going to be a bit breezy on Wednesday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph, and the strongest wind is going to be in northeastern Montana.
There are then going to be scattered showers and thunderstorms around on Thursday and Friday as a couple more disturbances pass through our area. We are also going to have partly to mostly cloudy skies on Thursday and partly to mostly sunny skies on Friday. Highs on Thursday will be in the 60s and 70s, with the coolest temperatures in eastern portions of north-central Montana. Highs will then be in the 70s on Friday. It is also going to be a little breezy on Thursday.
As of right now, Saturday looks like the drier day of the weekend as there are just going to be a few showers and thunderstorms around later in the day. Saturday is also going to be the sunnier and warmer day of the weekend as we are going to have mostly sunny skies and highs are going to be in the mid to upper 70s and low 80s.
On Sunday, we are going to have partly cloudy skies with scattered showers and thunderstorms around, generally during the afternoon/evening, as another disturbance passes through our area. It is also going to be mild on Sunday as highs are going to be in the 70s.
