BOZEMAN – Higher fire danger is the main concern in the short-term forecast for Montana through Wednesday evening.
The combination of warm, dry, and windy conditions will keep the fire danger high to extreme especially during the hot afternoon hours.
A RED FLAG WARNING began at noon Tuesday and continues through Wednesday evening mostly east of the divide.
Why so windy? We must analyze the big picture across the Pacific NW and the upper level jet stream pattern.
A High-pressure ridge is building slowly in from the West and will help temperatures continue to climb for the rest of the week. Moving up and over the ridge pattern will be a few Pacific storms and associated cold fronts. These fronts will pass over Northern Montana and they should be dry cold fronts.
This type of pattern is favorable for warm, dry, and gusty winds. Under Red Flag Warnings we all must be very careful with working and playing outdoors as human caused fires are very likely and small accidental fires can grow out of the control quickly.
