Northwest Montana Fire and Aviation

Fire Weather Discussion as of 7:20 p.m. MDT Monday, September 7, 2026

     Continued cool and damp conditions will prevail overnight into the early morning hours on Tuesday before conditions begin to dry out and warm up a bit but nothing above seasonal averages is currently anticipated. Fuels will remain very moist from the soaking rains that have occurred over the past 24 hours with more precipitation overnight totaling between 0.20 and 0.50 inches which will continue to put a significant dent in the fire season and help fuel moisture recover. A colder system with the potential of higher elevation snowfall will be possible this upcoming weekend along with breezy conditions. Starting today the fire weather discussion will only be updated as conditions warrant until the end of the 2026 fire season. Once the 2026 fire season has ended fire weather discussions will resume at the start of the 2027 fire season.

Aviation discussion as of 7:20 p.m. MDT Monday, September 7, 2026 valid through 10:00 p.m. MDT Tuesday, September 8, 2026:

    MVFR to local IFR conditions will continue through the night with steady light to moderate rain and patchy fog along with widespread mountain obscurations. Rain will come to an end shortly after sunrise on Tuesday with clouds slowly scattering out with VFR conditions likely to return by early to mid afternoon although plenty of strato-cumulus clouds will remain with bases rising to near 8,500 feet. One or two showers may redevelop during the afternoon hours over the higher terrain but these will largely stay away from the airfield. Winds will pick up a bit on Tuesday afternoon from the west up to 10 mph.