A RED FLAG WARNING has been issued for northeast Montana for Friday afternoon and evening.
It was a wild weather day across Montana. Widespread record heat fueled powerful thunderstorms that caused a massive power outage in the Helena area. Temperatures soared into the 90s with a few places like Glasgow hitting 100. Thunderstorms fed off of the heat and rumbled through much of western and central Montana. Lots of lightning and reports of small hail accompanied the storms. Buckle up because we are not finished with the heat and storms just yet. An isolated storm or two could continue Thursday night into Friday morning. Friday will be another hot day with highs in the 80s and 90s. Thunderstorms will be scattered across central and eastern Montana. The timing of the developing storms and cloud cover will likely affect how many towns set record highs again. If the storms form a little earlier in the afternoon, high temperatures will not be as hot. The combination of hot temperatures, gusty wind, and thunderstorms will increase the fire danger across most of eastern Montana. A cold front will move through on Saturday with thunderstorms in central and eastern Montana. It will not be "cold" behind the front, but temperatures will cool back into the 70s and 80s for highs in western and central areas. Eastern Montana will still reach the 90s to around 100. A strong west wind will develop behind the front, so fire danger will be an issue. Temperatures will cool back down into the 70s with partly cloudy skies and breezy conditions on Sunday. Temperatures should stay in the 70s next week with an increasing chance of thunderstorms toward the middle of the week.
Curtis Grevenitz
Chief Meteorologist
