BUTTE — Much of southwest Montana was cloud-free for a good portion of Tuesday, but as we've had most days the last couple weeks, the monsoon moisture allowed isolated showers and thunderstorms to bubble up by late afternoon. The showers and thunderstorms will fall apart after sunset, and we'll be left with a mostly clear, but hazy night and morning. Lows will range from the mid 40s to the upper 60s.
The dominant ridge of high pressure over the Rockies and High Plains will continue to be the main factor in our weather going forward. It is funneling more wildfire smoke from the Pacific Northwest, and more monsoon moisture from the Desert Southwest. The result on Wednesday and Thursday will be hazy heat along with afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms, but little rain for most of us for now.
Our current weather pattern will remain unbroken Friday and Saturday, except we'll have less monsoon moisture, more sun and more heat. The first day of August on Saturday will likely be our hottest day of the 7-day forecast, but thankfully a trough of low pressure and cold front should weaken the ridge over our region, and give us a cooling trend to near (or even below) average highs by early next week.
