BUTTE — Thursday has been a less active day than Wednesday around southwest Montana, but a few thunderstorms still rumbled over the mountains. We'll have fewer clouds overnight and it will be mild, but high altitude haze and smoke will still be in our sky from the fires over the Pacific Northwest. Lows Friday morning will range from the upper 40s to near 60 degrees.
Friday will be a hotter day for most of us, and the further west you live, the less active your weather will likely be. We'll still have the haze and smoke along with our sunshine, and isolated thunderstorms will pop up mainly from Madison County eastward by the late afternoon and evening. Highs will range from the upper 80s to the upper 90s, with a Heat Advisory in effect.
The Heat Advisory for our lower elevations of southwest Montana will last from Friday afternoon through Sunday evening, with plentiful 90s for most areas, and a few lower 100s possible. We will have more monsoon moisture pushing over our region on Saturday, and there will be a slightly better chance for thunderstorms, but many of us will stay dry and hot through the entire weekend.
The dominant ridge of high pressure currently over the Rockies and the High Plains will not give up the ghost anytime soon. We will have a few waves bring additional monsoon moisture over the northern Rockies at times next week, but aside from minor cooling early next week, most or all of us will stay dry through at least next Thursday. Highs will range from the mid 80s to the mid 90s.
