A RED FLAG WARNING has been issued for Tuesday afternoon and evening.
A HEAT ADVISORY continues for eastern Montana into Tuesday night.
Temperatures will be cooling down but strong wind and low humidity will create extreme fire danger over the next few days. A cold front will move through the state on Tuesday with slightly cooler temperatures but it will still be hot. Most areas will have highs in the 90s. Western and northwestern Montana will top out in the 80s. Even though temperatures will start to trend downward, it will be another hot day. This combined with strong west wind and low humidity will result in extreme fire danger for most of Montana. Wind will generally range from 15-30mph out of the west with some gusts up to 45mph. The humidity could be as low as 15%. In these conditions, a new fire could take off quickly and existing fires will like have significant growth. So the Colt Fire near Seeley Lake and the Bowles Creek Fire near Skalkaho Summit will likely grow and emit large smoke plumes. The wind will die down some in the evening but Wednesday will be another windy day. The humidity will be low again but the temperatures will come down with many areas staying in the 80s. The fire danger will remain high. Thursday the danger backs off some with highs in the 80s, a north wind of 10-15mph, and isolated thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening. Friday will be partly to mostly cloudy with scattered showers and thunderstorms. Temperatures will fall well below normal with highs in the 70s and 80s. Partly cloudy skies with scattered storms and highs in the 70s and 80s will continue this weekend. Cooler air and some timely rain is likely but the next few days could be very dangerous with the wind and low humidity.
Curtis Grevenitz
Chief Meteorologist
