MISSOULA - Models are in very good agreement that we're in for a prolonged period of warm and dry weather across the Northern Rockies today into early next week due to a strong ridge of high pressure.
Look for ample sunshine Saturday with highs in the low 70s... perfect for UM graduation (Go Griz!), farmers markets and to kick off Mother's Day weekend!
Speaking of Mother's Day, we'll see partly cloudy skies and highs in the mid 70s to low 80s - that's a good 10°-15° above average.
Our warm, quiet and sunny weather pattern persists through early next week, too, with Tuesday shaping up to possibly be the hottest day of the spring thus far if the forecast holds. The NWS Missoula office says with temps pushing the low to mid 90s for lower elevations in Idaho and pushing the low to mid 80s in western Montana's valleys, we could see records fall. "The current forecast has a high of 90° for Salmon, ID compared to the historical daily record high of 89° set in 1993 (station period of record 1967-present)". Further to the north, I'm forecasting 86° for Missoula with the current record high of 91° also set in 1993.
