Poor air quality and Air Stagnation Alerts are numerous for western Montana counties right now, and are expected to continue through most of Wednesday. How bad is the air quality in some of the areas of concern?
Montana counties across the entire state are getting hammered with snow, wind and bitterly cold temperatures. Missoula, Bozeman, Helena, Great Falls, Billings and everywhere in between has it's own issues, with up to 15 inches of fresh snow falling by Thursday evening.
Very dry conditions, gusty winds up to 40 MPH, and the chance of lightning storms have created dangerous fire conditions across all of western Montana on Friday. Any wildfires that start today will be difficult to contain, so Red Flag Warnings have been issued across the western counties.
Wildfire smoke from Canada, and the smoke from fires within Montana dropped the Air Quality Index (AQI) in parts of Montana by dozens of points on Wednesday. Thursday isn't looking too promising either with Air Quality Alerts and Heat Advisories in effect for large portions of the state.
The cycle of warmer temperatures and afternoon showers and thunderstorms are prompting many Flood Watches across central Montana. Creeks, streams, and rivers are all at risk of flooding on Wednesday - travelers and recreationists are urged to use caution.