Still hot with a few showers and thunderstorms around Thursday and Friday

Central Montana has a heat warning through 9:00 p.m. Friday and an excessive heat warning applies to eastern Montana from 10:00 a.m. tomorrow through 9:00 p.m. Saturday. The high temperatures for the next four days (tomorrow, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) will continue to be in the mid to upper 90s and below 100 in most locations. Fortunately, although it will be hot during the day, we’ll get at least some relief from the heat at night as the lows for the next four nights will generally be in the top 50s and low to mid 60s.

It will continue to be hot at the beginning of next week, although it will be a little cooler than the next few days as the highs will be in the upper 80s and low to mid 90s. It will also remain mild at night next week as the lows in most locations will be in the upper 50s and lower 60s.

Since it will be hot for the foreseeable future, limit your time outdoors during the heat of the day, and if you need to be outside at all, make sure you stay hydrated. wear loose-fitting and light-colored clothing; take frequent breaks in the shade or in the air conditioner; and avoid strenuous activities. Also, make sure you check back in with family members and neighbors regularly to make sure they are safe and make sure you NEVER leave pets or people in a closed car as the temperatures in a car get very hot very quickly can be.

Clear skies and dry conditions are expected tonight. For tomorrow we start the day with lots of sunshine, but in the afternoon and evening the cloud cover will increase as some monsoon moisture wants to penetrate our area. Some rain showers and thunderstorms are also possible tomorrow afternoon / evening and tomorrow morning at night, mainly in south-central and southwest Montana (i.e. places south and west of Great Falls). Friday will then have increasing clouds throughout the day with a few occasional rain showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening, as the southwest current brings some monsoon moisture to our area. Most of the thunderstorms that develop tomorrow and Friday will not be severe, although frequent lightning, heavy rainfall, gusty winds, and small hailstorms are still possible when thunderstorms occur.

There will be a light breeze overnight in eastern Montana and along the Hi-Line as sustained winds will be between 10 and 20 miles per hour. Then tomorrow it will be windy in east Montana as the sustained wind speeds will be between 15 and 25 mph, and tomorrow it will be breezy along the Hi-Line as the sustained wind speeds will be between 10 and 20. will be mph. On Friday, airy conditions are expected again in eastern Montana, as the sustained wind speeds will be between 10 and 20 miles per hour. Also, Phillips County and Valley Counties will have a red flag warning from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. tomorrow, and a red flag warning will apply to Blaine County, Chouteau County, Hill County, and most of Fergus County from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. tomorrow on Friday, as critical fire weather conditions are expected at these locations in the next two days.

This weekend looks drier now than it did earlier this week as only a few showers and thunderstorms are expected, generally during the afternoon hours. We will have mostly sunny skies this weekend as well. For next week we will have mostly sunny skies with a few isolated rain showers and thunderstorms, generally during the afternoon hours as some moisture continues to try to penetrate our area. It will also be a little windy on Saturday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, especially in eastern Montana and along the Hi-Line, as sustained winds will be between 10 and 20 miles per hour.