A HEAT ADVISORY has been issued for parts of central and northern Montana for Thursday.
A FIRE WEATHER WATCH has been issued for Thursday.
An AIR QUALITY ALERT is in effect for the Flathead Valley and West Glacier Region.
Montana is in the midst of a heat wave with record high temperatures and very high fire danger but the end is in sight. A slight cool down will come for the plains on Wednesday but the state does not really cool off until the weekend. More record highs will be broken and wildfire activity will increase. Air quality will decrease as more smoke is created. Several of the old fires across western Montana have come back to life and the smoke plumes are large. A weak cold front will clip central and eastern Montana on Wednesday with a brief cool down there as highs top out in the 80s and 90s. Western and southwest Montana will still be hot with highs in the upper 90s and low 100s. Intense heat will spread back across the state on Thursday with highs in the 90s and low 100s. Stronger west and southwest wind will create dangerous fire weather conditions. Friday will still be hot with highs in the 90s to around 100 but things will begin to change. Isolated thunderstorms along with partly cloudy skies will start to cool things off a little. Saturday will be partly cloudy with scattered afternoon and evening thunderstorms, highs will be back down in the 80s. Sunday and Monday will be mostly cloudy with areas of rain and thunderstorms. Highs will be more in the 70s and 80s. Cooler weather and moisture will help the state recover after this heat wave.
Stay cool,
Curtis Grevenitz
Chief Meteorologist
