Today's Forecast:
Temperatures are on the rise in southwest Montana starting today. Our rain chances remain slim for Thursday, and we expect to see sunny skies throughout most of the day. The only rain chance that we see for rain today in the region appears to be near West Yellowstone in southern Gallatin and Madison counties and would likely be a pop-up mountain shower. Highs will stay in the middle 80s for most of the area with light west to northwest winds. A few spotty showers are possible for Friday evening.
BOZEMAN: High: 85; Low: 52. We will warm up quickly in the region as clear skies will allow highs to top out in the middle 80s.Winds will remain light out of the west to northwest between 5-10 mph.
BUTTE: High: 84; Low: 49. Temperatures will pick up across the area starting today as full sunshine will push highs back to the middle 80s. Expect light wind between 5-10 mph out of the west to northwest between 5-10 mph.
DILLON: High: 86; Low: 53. West wind and full sunshine will dominate the day. Winds will generally be light and mainly out of the west between 5-10 mph. Clear skies and bright sunshine will help build our daytime highs back into the middle and upper 80s for the afternoon.
WEST YELLOWSTONE: High: 81; Low: 44. Generally sunny skies and warm conditions are expected for today with a very slim chance to pick up a pop-up shower or thunderstorm by the early evening. Don’t cancel plans as the chances are fairly slim, but just be prepared for a spotty shower by the evening.
THIS WEEKEND’S HEAT:
The National Weather Service has issued Excessive Heat Watches across Eastern Montana spilling into Southwest Montana for the weekend. Daytime highs will range from mid 90s in southwest Montana to nearly 110° in eastern parts of the Treasure State. This is considered dangerous heat, and you should make sure that you stay hydrated and have a cool place to rest.
The other part of the heat building that is raising the cause for concern in the STORMTracker Weather Center is fire danger. Any time that temperatures approach 100 degrees we typically stay dry as a result. With a lack of moisture (rain) and overnight lows that don’t fall significantly, our humidity will turn critical for fire danger.
Anglers will also need to pay attention to water temperatures during this time period. Water temperatures for our streams and tributaries will be on the rise and could stress trout. Beware that Montana FWP could put fishing restrictions out with the extreme heat in place.
