A FIRE WEATHER WATCH has been issued for much of Montana east of the Continental Divide for Thursday.
Summer is still going strong and fire season is far from over. The next few days will be hot, and with an increasing wind there will be a rise in the fire danger once again. The Trail Creek, Alder Creek and Christensen Fires in southwest Montana have all grown by hundreds if not thousands of acres over the last few days. These fires will continue to grow and emit smoke as weather will be warm, dry and breezy for the next several days. A broad southwest flow will also transport wildfire smoke from California, Oregon, Idaho and Washington. Temperatures will climb into the 80s and low 90s for Wednesday, and the wind will pick up to 15mph out of the south and southwest. Thursday will likely be another RED FLAG WARNING day with highs in the 80s and 90s, west wind up to 30mph, and a few isolated thunderstorms. But just as the situation looks dire, an area of low pressure will move into the state on Friday with increasing showers and thunderstorms later in the day. The storm will provide much needed precipitation to the state through Friday night into Saturday. Rain will fall on some of the active fires in southwest Montana but also over Idaho, Oregon and even northern California fires. Showers will continue into Saturday morning, gradually decreasing by the afternoon. Highs will be cooler in the 60s and 70s. The air quality will likely improve as well. Sunday will be partly cloudy with highs in the 70s. Overall, temperatures will be cooler heading into next week.
Curtis Grevenitz
Chief Meteorologist
