Greetings!
It's a dry summer day out there with humidity values down below 10% in some areas. Low humidity, gusty winds and temperature in the 80s and 90s are certainly weather conditions that would make for dangerous wildfire conditions. Thank goodness for the rain and cooler temperatures that continues through late June into early July. However, these current weather conditions are drying vegetation out very quickly. Fire danger will only be increasing over the next several days. Two active fires, the Hog Trough Fire east of the Bitterroot Valley, and the Moose Fire near Salmon, Idaho continue to emit smoke and are growing. The Hog Trough Fire is growing at a much slower rate than the Moose Fire. Since Monday, the Moose Fire has burned nearly 17,000 acres and is producing smoke and poor air quality across southern Montana. This fire is not going away anytime soon.
Thursday will be a little warmer with highs in the low to mid 90s, but it still does not appear that temperatures will reach record levels anytime soon. A weak area of low pressure will produce a few thunderstorms on Friday, but most of the state will be dry. Highs will be in the 70s and 80s, a little cooler than average. This weekend will be warm with highs in the 80s and 90s. An area of low pressure may come through the state late Saturday into Sunday with scattered thunderstorms at night. A few more thunderstorms and another cool down are likely for Monday, with highs back down in the 80s. Overall through the end of July and the beginning of August the weather looks very typical, but there will be a few Canadian fronts that could bring showers and below average temperatures at times.
Curtis Grevenitz
Chief Meteorologist
