Good Morning! Today is Thursday, September 3, 2026.
A line of severe thunderstorms with strong, damaging winds rolled through central and north-central Montana yesterday afternoon and evening leaving plenty of damage in its wake. There were lots of downed trees and downed power lines, multiple power outages, roof damage, blowing dust, rolling stock tanks, flying trampolines, and new fire starts. The Cora Creek fire located near Armington Junction to the southeast of Belt was the largest fire reported yesterday as it burned an estimated 280 acres.
Peak wind gusts with this line of severe storms were over 60 mph in a lot of locations. Great Falls recorded a peak wind gust of 83 mph, which was the strongest wind gust recorded in the state yesterday. Cut Bank, Havre, and Helena, all recorded wind gusts over 70 mph yesterday.
Thankfully, much quieter and nicer weather is expected today. It is going to be partly to mostly sunny today and it will be mostly dry as well, just a few isolated showers and storms around, generally during the evening and generally in the mountains.
Along the Rocky Mountain Front, it will be gusty today as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 15 and 30 mph, and gusts of 40-50 mph are possible. East of the Rocky Mountain Front and around the Helena area, it will be breezy today with sustained wind speeds between 10 and 25 mph, and gusts of 30-40 mph are possible. The wind will weaken the further east you go.
A wide range of temperatures is also expected today as highs are going to range from the 60s near the Rockies to the mid 80s in northeastern Montana.
It is going to be partly to mostly sunny tomorrow and Saturday, with more clouds around and west of I-15 and more sunshine east of I-15. A lot of locations will continue to remain dry on these two days, but there will be a few showers and isolated thunderstorms around, generally in locations around and west of I-15.
There are going to be some scattered showers and thunderstorms around on Sunday as the next storm system begins to approach our area. Showers are then likely on Monday and there will be a few thunderstorms around as well as the storm system passes through the state. On Tuesday, there will continue to be some scattered showers around, generally during the morning and generally in locations east of I-15, as the storm moves out. Skies will be mostly cloudy on Monday and partly cloudy on Tuesday.
Cooler temperatures are expected on these three days as highs are going to be in the 60s and low to mid 70s, with the coolest temperatures expected on Monday. There is also going to be a little bit of a breeze around on Sunday and Monday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 5 and 20 mph. Tuesday will be a breezy day with sustained wind speeds between 10 and 25 mph.
Have a tremendous Thursday!
Chief Meteorologist Ryan Dennis
