BILLINGS- It is another cooler day here in south central Montana and Billings. At 2 p.m.Tuesday, the temperature had only climbed up into the low 70s.
However, you may have noticed a little bit of leftover smoke in the air, thanks to the light winds in the Billings area on Tuesday.
The Air Quality around the state is starting to suffer from all the smoke out in the west.
In fact, Northwest Montana has downright unhealthy air, while the rest of Montana has moderate air quality.
The air quality in Northwest Montana is so bad there is an Air Quality Warning until 8 a.m. Thursday. This is due to an increasing particulate count which is unhealthy for all groups.
Naturally there are fire restrictions across Montana. There are stage I and stage II fire restrictions as well as local burn bans around the mountains and out on the northeastern plains..
In Yellowstone County, the stage I fire restriction continues. Smoking is only allowed in vehicles or buildings and campfires must be surrounded by a nonflammable materials.
The current Doppler radar shows a few lingering rain showers and thunderstorms across south central and southeastern Montana.
At 2 p.m. so far nothing has become severe, but we have had some small hail and frequent lightning strikes..
Our computer models do show a southeasterly breeze in southeastern Montana which is giving us a little extra lift in that part of the state today.
We expect some strong thunderstorms to develop in Powder River and Carter Counties by the end of the day, but clearing skies as we move into Wednesday.
BILLINGS FORECAST
TONIGHT: Partly cloudy little but the haze and mild. West winds 5 to 15 mph. Low 57 degrees.
WEDNESDAY: Mostly sunny and getting warmer. Southwest winds 5 to 15 mph high 91 degrees.
THURSDAY: Mostly sunny and warmer still. Southwest winds 5 to 10 mph. High 93 degrees.
