Posted: Sep 8, 2012 6:40 PM by Chrissy Kohler - StormTracker Weather Center
Updated: Sep 9, 2012 11:35 AM
MISSOULA - We are in for one more day of the summer weather before things take a turn toward fall. A series of fronts will move through over the next several days bringing us winds, rain and even much cooler temperatures for the early part of the work week.
Tomorrow will be another warm one as we head back into the low to mid 80s during the afternoon. We will see partly cloudy skies during the day and even the chance for some scattered showers from lunchtime up until the evening. Most of the rain will fall across the northwest. Winds will also be gusty during the afternoon as the first of two fronts moves through the Northern Rockies. We can expect winds gusts of 20 to 30 mph Sunday afternoon.
A red flag warning is in effect for the Bitterroot, Deerlodge and Beaverhead National Forests from noon to 9PM on Sunday. Winds will be out of the southwest at 15 to 30 mph with gusts up to 45 mph. Also low humidities and the chance for isolated thunderstorms means that new fire starts are possible as well as the potential for current fires to spread quickly increasing our fire danger.
Monday will be the first day of big changes this week. After the first front moves through on Sunday, highs on Monday will only reach the upper 60s to mid 70s. We'll also see the chance for more rain as the second front moves through right on the heels of the first. Monday morning looks to be fairly dry but from late morning into the evening, scattered showers will move across the region. Again, the best chance for rain will be across Northwest Montana.
Winds will again be an issue with this front. In fact wind gusts in the valleys on Monday are expected to be in the 30 to 40 mph range. A high wind watch is in effect for Glacier National Park and the Rocky Mountain Front from Sunday night through Monday evening. West winds of 25 to 40 mph with gusts up to 60 mph are expected especially over the higher terrain including Logan and Marias passes.
Our temperatures for Tuesday will drop even further behind the second front as a much cooler air mass settles in. Our highs will only reach the mid 60s with morning lows starting out in the mid 30s. The cooler air will stick around into Wednesday with many folks starting out below the freezing mark and warming into the upper 60s during the afternoon. These temperatures are aobut 10 degrees below average for the early part of September.
From Thursday onward, high pressure will slowly warm us up. Sunny skies will persist into the weekend and we'll go from the mid 70s on Thursday into the mid to upper 70s for Friday and Saturday.
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