BOZEMAN – A weak disturbance is rolling up into SW Montana Tuesday evening with increasing clouds and only a slight chance for a passing shower or thunderstorm.
The next 7 to 10 days will go from one extreme to another. First, a hot, dry, and windy weather pattern is likely Wednesday into Thursday. Forecast highs are in the mid 80s to lower 90s Wednesday afternoon. Forecast highs for Wednesday are around 5 degrees shy of record level pace.
Relative humidity values will remain very low as well Wednesday into Thursday and during the late afternoon hours could fall between 10%-20% at times.
A dry cold front will drop through the state Wednesday afternoon and produce increasing surface winds 10 to 20 mph and in wind prone areas gusts to or over 30 mph.
All the factors mentioned above will increase fire danger across Montana Wednesday into Thursday afternoon.
FIRE WEATHER WARNING
The National Weather Service has issued a FIRE WEATHER WARNING for most of Montana Wednesday noon to 8 pm.
The combination of hot, dry, and windy weather will significantly increase fire danger and produce erratic fire behavior. That means a small fire can become out of control in a short amount of time. Please use extreme caution with all outdoor activities Wednesday and Thursday afternoons.
PATTERN CHANGE
Beginning Friday, we will transition from a blocking High-pressure pattern to a slower moving Low-pressure pattern. This will produce below normal temperatures and above normal precipitation. Plan on increasing chances of rain, thunderstorms and even a slight chance for some higher mountain snow late this weekend into early next week across Montana.
