Missoula Nearing Record High Temperature For August
Missoula could break an all-time hottest temperature record on Friday, but it will have to get warmer than expected to do so. National Weather Service Meteorologist Travis Boothe explains.
"We are going to be near record heat," Boothe said. "Right now we have a forecast high of 100 degrees on Thursday in Missoula and 102 on Friday. The all time record for the month of August is 105 degrees and it happened way back in 1961. The last time we hit 100 degrees in the month of August was in 2012."
When Montana hit triple digits in 2012, we only did so for a single day. The hot temperatures have provoked fire season and are playing a role in the increased levels of smoke overhead.
"We are getting under a ridge of high pressure which means the air is fairly stagnant," Boothe said. "We have fires going on in the cascade mountains. Of course we also have fires that are going on in northern California. In a cumulative way the smoke is just slowly easing into the area and it is difficult to get rid of. We also have a few local fires that are adding to the smoke."
Boothe says the smoke makes things difficult for meteorologists because smoke cover acts as a bit of shade making things cooler than expected.