Western Montana is expected to be warmer and drier than average this summer. Colleen Haskell, a meteorologist with the Northern Rockies Coordination Center, says the forecast falls in line with a trend seen across much of the country.Haskell provided the update on the latest summer weather expectations during a fire media training meeting on Thursday.
“So, west of the Continental Divide is where we see the highest probability for drier than average,” she said.
In south central and southeast Montana, there is a medium probability of warmer- and drier-than-normal conditions.
Haskell’s inclination is that Montana will see some areas of above average potential for fires, primarily in the southwest and western regions.
She added that central and south central Montana will see normal fire potential for core fire season months. However, Haskell noted, that does not mean that there will not be large fires.