Thanks to an upper-level ridge, we had beautiful summer-like weather all weekend long with plenty of sunshine, mostly dry conditions, and warm temperatures. The warm temperatures will continue this week, but there are also going to be daily chances of showers and thunderstorms as we are going to have southerly/southeasterly flow aloft as Montana will be located in between an upper-level ridge off to our east/northeast and an upper-level trough off to our southwest.
Here is the detailed forecast:
This evening and tonight, it is going to be partly cloudy to mostly clear and there will be some scattered showers and thunderstorms around the Helena area and in locations west of I-15 in north-central Montana before midnight. It is also going to be mild tonight as lows are going to be in the 50s and upper 40s in most locations.
Tomorrow will begin with a lot of sunshine, but the cloud cover will increase as the day goes on. The day will start off dry, but there will be scattered showers and thunderstorms around the Helena area during the afternoon/evening and there will be a few showers and thunderstorms around in north-central Montana during the late afternoon and evening. There will then continue to be some scattered showers and thunderstorms around tomorrow night, generally before midnight. A few of the thunderstorms that develop later on tomorrow and tomorrow night may be severe. Damaging wind gusts (58+ mph) will be the main hazard, but large hail (1+” in diameter) is also possible.
It will be warm tomorrow around the Helena area and along the Rocky Mountain Front as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 70s and low to mid 80s. Across the plains in north-central and northeastern Montana, it will be hot tomorrow as highs are going to be in the 90s and mid to upper 80s. A HEAT ADVISORY is in effect for northeastern Montana from 12pm-9pm tomorrow.
It is also going to be gusty tomorrow in eastern portions of north-central Montana as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph, and gusts up to 40 mph are possible. This wind will elevate the fire danger, and a RED FLAG WARNING is in effect for portions of northeastern Montana from 12pm-9pm tomorrow. There is also a LAKE WIND ADVISORY in effect for Fort Peck Lake from 9am Tuesday until 6am Thursday. Around Helena and in western portions of north-central Montana, it will just be a little breezy tomorrow with sustained wind speeds between 5 and 20 mph.
On Wednesday, it is going to be partly cloudy and there will be some scattered showers and thunderstorms around, mainly during the afternoon and evening. It will also be a little cooler on Wednesday as highs are going to be back in the 70s and low to mid 80s. The one exception will be along the eastern half of the Hi-Line where it will be hot again on Wednesday as highs are going to be in the upper 80s and low to mid 90s. It will also be gusty again on Wednesday in eastern portions of north-central Montana as gusts up to 40 mph are possible. Elsewhere, it will just be a little breezy on Wednesday.
It will be very warm on Thursday and Friday as highs are going to be in the 80s and low to mid 90s in a lot of locations. On Thursday, there will be some isolated PM showers and thunderstorms around, and on Friday, there will be a few scattered PM showers and thunderstorms around. It is also going to be partly to mostly sunny on these two days and there will just be a little breeze (5-20 mph) around.
Widespread showers and thunderstorms are likely on Saturday as the upper-level trough moves over our area. It will also be cooler and breezy on Saturday as highs are going to be in the 60s and 70s and sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph.
On Sunday, there will be some scattered showers and thunderstorms around as the trough remains in control of our weather. It is also going to be partly cloudy and cool on Sunday as highs are going to be in the 60s and low to mid 70s. There will also be a bit of a breeze around on Sunday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph.
