Happy September and meteorological fall! In the weather world, September, October and November represent the months of autumn. While this is different than the astronomical season, it represents the seasons more on the annual temperature cycle rather than position of Earth relative to the Sun. Speaking of the Sun, a solar flare is headed toward Earth and may result in the aurora borealis Wednesday night into early Thursday morning. This could be a particularly interesting event considering the strength of the solar flare. So if you live outside of city limits, check it out. 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. Some fires in southwest Montana have come back to life with the recent dry and windy weather. 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
