You Wanted Montana Summer, Here Come Those Temperatures

If you're one of those people who "wilt" when the temperature tops 90 degrees this might not be your weekend in Montana.

But if you love the heat, and have been complaining about a May that brought snow and cold to remind us where we live, you'll be thrilled with this news.

The best news is that Montana's warm-up won't have the heat that will slam the rest of the West over the next few days.

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Welcome to the Heat Dome

It sounds like a line from "Mad Max", but that's exactly what the West faces as a massive higher pressure ridge develops, bringing early triple-digit temperatures to inland California and the Desert Southwest.

While some of that heat will make it as far north as Eastern Oregon, and the inland valleys of Idaho, it doesn't look too extreme on the Montana side of the mountains.

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Warmest so far in '24

"Parts of the time over especially the latter part of the week, that Ridge will be right over the top, the middle part right over the Northern Rockies," explains National Weather Service meteorologist Trent Smith. "So looking at above normal temperatures especially I think Friday, and Saturday will probably be our warmest getting up into the 80s and even low 90s."

The record high for Saturday in 93 degrees, set in 2016, so just above the forecast in Missoula.

Then, a cool down

That's not expected to last for more than a couple of days though, with a cold front arriving Sunday, with clouds, showers, and even thunderstorms.

"It won't be a dramatic cooldown, since Saturday lows still could be in the 60s. But Sunday and Monday could be 10 to 15 degrees cooler," Trent says.

Warm next week

Once the high-pressure ridge rebuilds, temperatures will rebound back into the 80s. The overall long-range outlook remains dry, except for a chance of rain in Northwest Montana.

"Models are showing there's a high probability that temperatures will be above normal for this time of year for the month of June," Trent says. "But as for the precipitation, it's really kind of highlighting Southwest Montana and West Central Montana with the better chance of below normal precipitation."