MISSOULA — A weak system will bring scattered rain showers and thunderstorms to west-central and northwest Montana Friday morning. Unfortunately precipitation looks scarce with this system and the combination of a stable morning atmosphere will only keep very isolated thunderstorms a possibility. These showers and storms will be east of the divide by late morning or early afternoon leading to clearing skies and sunshine.
Another thing to watch will be poor air quality along with smoky and hazy skies for west-central and southwest Montana this morning before the smoke and haze lift by the afternoon.
High pressure builds over the weekend allowing very hot temperatures to return. Highs will top out in the mid to upper 90s across western Montana and upper 90s to low 100s for the lower elevations of Idaho.
The ridge will flatten a bit by next week, however, above average temperatures and dry weather is expected to continue with highs in the upper 80s to mid 90s.
