We had a bit of clearing in the smoke last night, allowing the northern lights to shine for a few hours. However, the air quality will worsen again across southwest Montana today.
Smoke will stick around through at least until Wednesday. A cold front may assist in clearing some of it out, but I think there's a reasonable chance that it does very little to improve air quality, as our upper flow stays out of the west/southwest for the rest of the week.
The cold front's current timing brings it through Helena early Thursday. This will be a weaker front, so widespread precipitation is not expected, although a very isolated light shower is possible. It also will not bring as much wind as Friday/Saturday's front did. It will mostly cool us down into the 60s and produce cloud cover.
The upcoming weekend will be pleasant, aside from the possibility of wildfire smoke. Highs will be in the upper 60s to low 70s, and the sky conditions will be mostly clear.
Helena Temperature Records Today:
High: 82 (2020)
Low: 17 (1985)
AVG: 62/37
Great Falls Temperature Records Today:
High: 85 (1936)
Low: 8 (1985)
AVG: 61/36
Have a great Tuesday!
Joey Biancone
Meteorologist
Facebook: Meteorologist Joey Biancone
Instagram: joeybianconewx
Email: joey.biancone@ktvh.com
