There is going to be widespread haze and areas of near-surface smoke around tonight and tomorrow, and this smoke is primarily coming from wildfires burning in Idaho. Due to this smoke, the air quality at times will be unhealthy for sensitive groups. The haze/smoke will then decrease tomorrow night as a cold front passes through our area, with much cleaner air expected on Thursday, although it will continue to be a bit hazy in southern Montana, including around Helena.
We are going to have mostly clear skies tonight and partly to mostly sunny skies (via increasing clouds) tomorrow. For both tonight and tomorrow, the skies will be clearer the further east you are, and the skies will be cloudier the closer to the Rockies you are. It is also going to be cool tonight as lows are going to be in the 40s in most locations. It is then going to be warm tomorrow as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 70s and low to mid 80s. Breezy conditions are also expected tonight and tomorrow along the Rocky Mountain Front as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph. East of the Rocky Mountain Front, it is going to be a little breezy in some areas tomorrow as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 5 and 15 mph.
On Thursday, we are going to have mostly cloudy skies with a few showers around in central Montana (mainly south/east of Helena, around the Little Belts, and in Judith Basin and Fergus Counties). It is also going to be cooler on Thursday than it is going to be tomorrow as highs are going to be in the 60s in most locations.
We are then going to have partly cloudy skies on Friday with a couple stray showers around. We are also going to have pleasant temperatures on Friday as highs are going to be in the mid to upper 60s and low 70s.
For this weekend, we are going to have lots of sunshine and dry conditions as an upper-level ridge is going to be in control of our weather. We are also going to have little to no wind and seasonable temperatures this weekend as highs are going to be in the 60s and upper 50s in most locations.
Sunny skies, mainly dry conditions, and above average temperatures (highs in the mid to upper 60s and low to mid 70s) are then expected on Monday and Tuesday as an upper-level ridge is going to remain in control of our weather. It is also going to be a bit breezy on these two days as sustained wind speeds are going to be between 10 and 20 mph.
