It's gorgeous, but it's smoky in Big Sky this week. It's been at unhealthy levels off and on for weeks now. Air Quality Index numbers have been hovering in the 120s.
Yellowstone National Park, along with most counties in western Wyoming are still dealing with unhealthy air quality. The air quality index for YNP has been hovering around 100 which is "unhealthy for sensitive groups".
Dangerous conditions exist for Fire Weather again Tuesday, but thankfully much cooler, wet weather is on the way this week. Today, we need to remain vigilant with high temperatures and very low humidity.
Wildfire smoke has returned with a vengeance to most of Montana. Bozeman's AQI was as high as 175 on Monday morning...and that wasn't even the worst level in the state.
At least 10 Montana counties are still in danger on Tuesday with fire weather conditions and a Red Flag Warning until at least Tuesday night. A new wildfire started just outside of Billings on Monday afternoon. Be careful out there!
A major fire burning in the Crazy Mountains north of Livingston was started by lightning on July 17th and has burned nearly 15,000 acres. Hot, dry weather with a Red Flag Warning does not bode well for this and several other Montana fires.
Please, Mother Nature. No dry thunderstorms this afternoon. Unfortunately, there's a decent possibility of them popping up around southwest Montana today. The dangers of our continued hot weather are prompting a Red Flag Warning until at least Thursday night.
Less than 12 hours after the Gallatin Valley was drenched with good rain showers, we're back to Air Quality Index numbers in the 120s and 130s. Ugh. Monday afternoon and night were soggy, quite frankly...and now this?
Several counties in southwest Montana are expected to see much needed rain throughout Monday, however weather cells are slow moving and may produce more rain than small streams and streets can handle.
Take your pick. It's all bad. Beaverhead, Big Horn, Broadwater, Carbon, Carter, Cascade, Chouteau, Custer, Deer Lodge, Fallon, Fergus, Gallatin, Glacier, Golden Valley, Granite, Jefferson, Judith Basin, Lake, Lewis and Clark, Liberty, Madison, Meagher, Missoula, Musselshell, Park, Petroleum, Pondera, Powder River, Powell, Ravalli, Rosebud, Silver Bow, Stillwater, Sweet Grass, Teton, Treasure, Toole, Wheatland, and Yellowstone counties.