A FIRE WEATHER WATCH is in effect for northeastern Montana from 12pm until 9pm Thursday and for portions of north-central and central Montana from 10am Thursday until 12am Friday. Gusty winds, low relative humidity, and very hot temperatures are going to allow any fires that start to rapidly spread.
We are going to have partly cloudy to mostly clear skies tonight with some isolated showers and thunderstorms around after midnight as a weak disturbance begins to pass through our area. We are then going to have mostly sunny skies tomorrow with some isolated showers and thunderstorms around, generally in locations east of I-15 and especially during the morning, as this disturbance leaves our area. More locations will remain dry than see precipitation from this disturbance, and a lot of the precipitation that does fall will be on the lighter side. We are also going to have areas of haze around tonight and tomorrow.
It is also going to be mild tonight as lows are going to be in the mid to upper 50s and low 60s. It is then going to be hot tomorrow as highs are going to range from the upper 80s to the low 100s, and a few locations may tie or set a new record high temperature tomorrow. Breezy conditions are also expected tomorrow, especially during the afternoon and evening, as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 25 mph, and wind gusts up to 40 mph are going to be possible at times. This wind coupled with hot temperatures and low relative humidity is going to create high fire danger, so please do your part to not start any new fires.
Lots of sunshine and mainly dry conditions are then expected from Friday through Wednesday as an upper-level ridge is going to be in control of our weather. It is also going to be very hot on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday as highs are going to be in the 90s and low 100s. Saturday is going to be the hottest day during this stretch, and in some locations, Saturday is going to be the hottest September day that has ever been recorded. Many locations are also likely going to set a new record high temperature on Saturday, and some locations may also set a new record high temperature on Friday, Sunday, and/or Monday.
It is then going to be hot, but slightly cooler on Tuesday and Wednesday as highs are going to be in the upper 80s and low to mid 90s in most locations. It is also going to be breezy on Saturday, Monday, and Wednesday as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph, and wind gusts over 30 mph are going to be possible at times. For Sunday and Tuesday, there is going to be a little bit of a breeze around as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 5 and 20 mph.
