Hazy Night Sky for Full Harvest Moon

Happy October!
Smoke and haze from wildfires in California moved back into Montana on Thursday making for gray skies. The full Harvest Moon will be bright enough to shine through the upper level smoke. While the sky has turned, the air quality remains good as most of the smoke is thousands of feet up in the air. A minor front moving through the state on Friday morning will usher out the smoke as the flow turns around to the northwest. Friday will still be a little hazy, and highs will reach the 60s and low 70s. The smoke should be clear of the sky by late in the evening. The first weekend of October will be unusually warm, dry and sunny. Saturday will have a return of beautiful, blue sky. Highs will be in the 70s for most of the state, far eastern Montana will hold in the 60s. Sunday will also be nice and warm, but there will be a few issues. First, a southwest wind will increase through the day which means fire danger will go up. The southwest flow will also send smoke back in our sky. Temperatures will be warm in the 70s to around 80. Monday will have another minor front come through and push the smoke back down to the south. Warm and dry weather will continue through the rest of the week. At times, smoke could move across the sky. Please be careful with the fire danger here in Montana as it has been dry and will be dry until the following weekend at the earliest.
Have a great day.
Curtis Grevenitz
Chief Meteorologist