Well Tuesday kinda stunk, literally. Wildfire smoke from California and Idaho increased across the state, decreasing the air quality. At times, southern Montana had "unhealthy" air quality. There is a large low pressure over southwestern Canada. This storm initially created the southwest wind flow that transported the smoke into Montana. Now as the low moves east, the flow will switch to the west and northwest, ushering in cleaner and cooler air. Conditions will improve Wednesday with cooler temperatures in the 60s and 70s, and the wind will be still a bit breezy with some gusts up to 20mph. Thursday will be a pleasant early September day with mostly sunny skies, light wind, and comfortable temperatures in the 60s and 70s. Friday will be warmer with a slight chance of a shower or thunderstorm mainly down near Interstate 90, but most of the state should be dry. This weekend is Labor Day Weekend and the weather looks almost perfect. Temperatures will be warm in the 80s and low 90s, so summer is not over with yet. The wind could be gusty, especially on Sunday, which means the fire danger will be very high. There does not appear to be much moisture anytime soon. Each day that it does not rain, the fire danger creeps right back up. So please be careful with your weekend outdoor plans.
Curtis Grevenitz
Chief Meteorologist
