The heat has cooled and the fire danger has settled a little, but air quality or lack there of will be the biggest issue facing Montana this weekend. After several days of very hot temperatures and high fire danger, a cooler airmass is spilling across the state and numbers will be slightly and pleasantly below average this weekend. However, the air quality will be an issue. There are several fires burning in Montana but most of this smoke is from fires in Idaho, Oregon and California. With this current pattern, smoke from those fires will be carried across Montana for the foreseeable future. Saturday will be mostly sunny with a few isolated thunderstorms and highs in the 70s and 80s. Sunday will be mostly sunny with highs in the 80s to around 90. A shower or storm is possible in the morning hours around Helena and Great Falls, then possible in the afternoon and evening across eastern Montana. Temperatures will stay steady in the 80s for most of next week. There's a chance of a few thunderstorms on Tuesday that will knock the temperatures back down a little. However, another heat wave could develop around the beginning of August through the first weekend of the new month.
Have a great weekend,
Curtis Grevenitz
Chief Meteorologist
