A FIRE WEATHER WATCH has been issued for north-central Montana and along the Rocky Mountain Front until Sunday evening.
The temperature pendulum is swinging the other way after a stretch of well below average temperatures. The weekend will be very warm and sunny for October. This weekend will also be windy across the plains, creating elevated fire danger. A warm-up is on the way but so is a lot of wind. This weekend will be warmer with highs in the 60s and low 70s on Saturday, 60s and 70s on Sunday. The wind will be fairly gusty both Saturday and Sunday, with the exception of the valley locations of western Montana. Besides a brief cooldown for Monday with a few mixed rain and snow showers, most of next week will be warm and dry with a lot of sunshine. Some of the state's wildfires that were active last week did not receive much precipitation out of this last storm cycle. As temperatures warm and the wind increases this weekend and next week, the fire danger will start climbing again. One fire to watch is the Crown Mountain Fire southwest of Augusta. This fire is still smoldering after not really receiving much precipitation. Other fires such as the Haystack and Woods Creek had significant snow which likely has put them out. Significant precipitation may not move into Montana until next weekend or shortly thereafter.
Have a great weekend.
Curtis Grevenitz
Chief Meteorologist
