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MISSOULA- It's a sure sign of August went we get hot temperatures, afternoon dry thunderstorms and haze covering the valleys. It looks to be early part of next week before we see any changes in the forecast.

Yesterday was one of the hottest days of the year for some folks in southwest Montana. In fact Missoula hit triple digits for the first time in three years! We tied the record of 100° that was set back in 1971. We got up to 98 for some spots in the Bitterroot and out by Seeley Lake yesterday, while more clouds across Northwest Montana kept us in the upper 80s in the Flathead and Kootenai yesterday afternoon.

Today won't be quite as hot with highs only expected to reach the low to mid 90s with locations around the lake sitting in the upper 80s. But we will keep the hazy conditions we saw yesterday in the valleys, especially for locations where fires are burning nearby. Skies will be mostly sunny with th chance for more afternoon storms to develop. Again, these storms will be mostly dry with lightning and gusty winds being the biggest threats.

That same pattern will continue into Friday with highs back into the upper 80s to mid 90s. We'll see a few more clouds during the afternoon hours as a disturbance ripples through the Northern Rockies. Also looking at the chance for a few more storms to develop into the afternoon in Southwest Montana and along the Divide. However, we can't rule out the chance for storms elsewhere in Western Montana.

Saturday and Sunday, we'll see sunny skies but our temperatures will drop off just slightly. Highs will be in the mid 80s to low 90s both days. We'll again see the chance for afternoon thunderstorms to develop across southwest Montana.

By early next week, we'll start to see some changes in the forecast including cooler weather. A front looks to move through Tuesday which will drop us into the 80s for Monday and Tuesday and maybe even into the 70s for some places on Wednesday. But we'll also get gusty winds and more storms out of the front which is not good news for fire conditions.