BUTTE — We certainly cooled below average Tuesday morning with a clear and dry airmass over southwest Montana, with only haze and smoke in the air. After that cool start, highs were well below average by the afternoon. We can expect another mostly clear, hazy and cool Tuesday overnight and Wednesday morning, with lows ranging from the lower 30s to the lower 40s.
We currently have a strong ridge of high pressure to our south, and a trough of low pressure centered over central Canada. This pattern isn't allowing us to get too hot, but it also isn't allowing anything in our sky except the haze and smoke from fires in the Pacific Northwest. Wednesday will be a bright, hazy and fairly seasonable day with highs in the 80s for most areas.
The warming trend will continue Thursday and Friday, and we'll end up hotter than average in most areas, but not record-breaking, and certainly not as hot as last week. We can expect a mostly sunny sky with continued areas of haze and smoke in the air. Highs will range from the upper 80s to the mid 90s by Friday, before cooling a few degrees Saturday and Sunday.
