Tuesday was a nasty day as far as wildfire danger and smoke. Air quality suffered because of fires here in Montana but also California smoke came across our sky. A new large fire burning in the Moccasin Mountains north of Lewistown developed on Monday afternoon and continues to grow. Some of you may have noticed activity on the Woods Creek Fire in the Big Belt Mountains as it continues to have some burning in the interior. The Haystack Fire near Boulder continues to burn and is putting a lot of smoke in the air around Helena. The Trail Creek and Alder Creek fires are slowly growing and producing smoke. There is a new fire, the Crown Mountain fire southwest of Augusta. In the Bob Marshall Wilderness, the Spire Fire started yesterday and grew over 100 acres. There is hope as help is on the way. Wednesday will be a day of transition as a cold front moves into the state kicking off a few isolated showers and thunderstorms. It will be warmer in eastern Montana with highs in the 80s, but central and western areas will top out in the 60s and 70s. The showers will be limited, and not everyone will get wet. There is a better chance for showers on Thursday with highs in the 60s. Friday will be mostly cloudy with showers mainly over southern Montana. Cooler temperatures and a little wet weather will help the fire situation. Some showers will continue Friday night into Saturday morning before clearing. Most of the weekend will be mostly sunny with highs in the 60s and 70s. A good southwest wind will increase across the plains both Saturday and Sunday. Much cooler and wetter weather is likely beginning later Monday. Right now there is a good chance of widespread rain and snow in the lower elevations through Tuesday. Several inches could accumulate in the mountains, which would help get us closer to the end of fire season.
Curtis Grevenitz
Chief Meteorologist
