Labor Day Haze

Labor Day may be in full swing, but Mother Nature never takes a day off; especially in Montana. In fact, we have quite a few interesting and significant storylines to note this week. All of Montana and the American west will have more than their fair share of heat this week. Temperatures across the state will be in the mid 90s on Monday and Tuesday under clear skies. However, visibility may not be as crystal clear as you'd think. As winds increase from the west/southwest smoke from fires in Idaho and Washington will most likely be spread across central Montana, building up into Wednesday. A few afternoon storms are possible Wednesday afternoon and evening, and a few isolated storms may stick around into Thursday morning. A smaller chance for isolated storms is there for Friday morning, but that seems to be the start of a dry few days into the weekend. Wednesday should see multiple areas break daily temperature high and all time September records as temperatures will be above 100 degrees in more areas than not. Wednesday evening a trough begins pushing a cold front through the state, which will allow temperature highs in the 70s and low 80s on Thursday and Friday. As for the weekend, another warm stretch returns as Sunday will be back to above average temperatures and clear skies. Fire danger this week is at a high level as humidity decreases, temperatures rise, and wind becomes gusty. As always: A cloudy day is no match for a sunny disposition.
Be nice to each other.
- Meteorologist Trey Tonnessen -