A RED FLAG WARNING in effect until 10 p.m. Monday for southwestern Montana.

A AIR QUALITY ALERT in effect for parts of western and southwestern Montana until at least 4 p.m. Tuesday.

There will be widespread fog/smoke across much of Montana tonight, tomorrow, and tomorrow night, and this smoke is coming from wildfires burning locally in Montana and wildfires burning in Idaho. In northcentral Montana, the smoke will become thicker and more widespread as we move through tonight, then will taper off somewhat into the second half of tomorrow. In central and northcentral Montana, air quality will be unhealthy at times for sensitive groups through tomorrow night. The worst air quality through tomorrow night will remain in parts of western and southwestern Montana, where air quality will be unhealthy at times for everyone. We will then have decreasing fog/smoke from north to south on Wednesday as the wind direction changes to the north.

Tonight we will have mostly cloudy skies with a few isolated showers/storms in north-central Montana and some scattered showers and thunderstorms around Helena. It will also be mild tonight as lows will be in the mid to upper 50s and low to mid 60s.

Tomorrow we will have partly cloudy skies with some scattered showers/storms across north central Montana generally in the afternoon/evening and scattered showers/storms around Helena generally in the afternoon/evening as an upper level storm system begins to push through our area. There will then be a few more scattered showers/storms tomorrow evening, especially before midnight as this storm system continues to impact our area.

A few isolated severe thunderstorms with damaging winds (58+ mph) and/or large hail (1+” in diameter) are also possible later tomorrow. Tomorrow will also be a bit cooler than today, as highs will be in the mid 70s to mid 90s, with the coolest temperatures around Helena and the warmest temperatures in northeastern Montana. There will also be a light breeze in some areas tomorrow, as sustained winds will be between 5 and 20 mph.

Wednesday will see partly to mostly sunny skies with a few scattered showers/storms, generally during the afternoon hours and primarily in locations east of I-15 and in the mountains. A few isolated severe thunderstorms with damaging winds (58+ mph) and/or large hail (1+” in diameter) are also possible on Wednesday, generally in southeastern Montana. There will also be a breezy breeze on Wednesday, primarily during the afternoon hours, as sustained winds will be between 10 and 20 mph, and these winds will be from the north. It will also be mild on Wednesday, as highs will be in the 70s and low to mid 80s.

We will then have plenty of sunshine and dry conditions Thursday through Saturday as an upper level ridge will be in control of our weather. Temperatures will also warm up a bit over these three days as highs on Thursday will be in the mid to upper 70s and low to mid 80s; the 80s and low 90s on Friday; and the high 80s and low to mid 90s on Saturday. It will also be a bit breezy in some areas on Thursday as sustained winds will be between 5 and 20 mph.

Mostly sunny skies and mainly dry conditions are expected on Sunday and Monday as a few weak disturbances move through our area. It will also remain warm on these two days as highs will be in the upper 80s and low to mid 90s for most locations.