BUTTE — The month of August began in a very hot way in Montana and Wyoming with record highs being tied or broken in many locations. We also dealt with more than our fair share of haze and smoke from Pacific Northwest wildfires, and we've had several of our own growing in western Montana. Heat Advisories and Extreme Heat Warnings will expire early Sunday morning, but Red Flag Warnings will continue through Sunday evening.
A cold front and large trough of low pressure are sagging toward the northern Rockies at this time, and the entire storm system will push over Idaho, Montana and Wyoming on Sunday and Monday. On the positive side, that cold front will rapidly cool our highs to below average for most areas by Monday afternoon. On the negative side, the cold front will deliver more gusty wind, and only isolated showers and thunderstorms to a lucky few in some areas.
The cooldown will be welcomed by many as we begin the first full workweek of August on Monday, and Tuesday will remain cooler than average for most locations. The trough of low pressure will act as a buffer zone for much of this week, keeping the strong ridge of high pressure which brought so much hot weather further south. Although we will have a warming trend the second half of next week, we'll likely stay out of record territory for a while.
