Greetings, Beacon readers! It looks like the early September scorcher that brought temperatures into the mid-90s is behind us, but the late-summer suffering is not over in northwest Montana. The Canadians are sharing their wildfire smoke with us and as of this morning, the air quality index read 117, which is unhealthy for sensitive groups.
As the high pressure system continues shifting east today, gusts up to 40 mph are possible and a wind advisory has been issued in the Flathead Valley and West Glacier region, according to the National Weather Service. This could create “choppy” boating conditions on Flathead Lake and will bring extra high winds to west-facing slopes in the Swan Range and the Whitefish Range near Highway 93 while raising wildfire risk.
Speaking of wildfires, the Marry Ann wildfire today was confirmed about 12 mile southeast of Marion, according to the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. While the fire is only 5 acres as of this morning, there’s a high potential for spreading as it backs into a strong north wind at its location in a box canyon. Wildfire personnel are currently on the scene with four engines, three helicopters, two air tankers and more.
In addition to local wildfires, the “backdoor cold front” that has pushed smoke from Alberta and Saskatchewan into the Flathead Valley is expected to continue on its path to north-central Idaho, clearing most of the smoke out by Friday.
Once the winds settle, more tolerable conditions will return over the weekend with temperatures in the 80s and dropping to the 70s by next week. Atmospheric moisture levels could reach up to 200% of normal, raising a risk of excessive rainfall over burn scars and steep terrain.
For those of you hoping to catch some end-of-season floating on the Three Forks of the Flathead River, I hope you enjoy rock dodging, headwinds and little to no current. Streamflows are dwindling on the region’s waterways with below average levels. The Middle Fork gage near West Glacier read 517 cubic feet per second (cfs) compared to its median flow of 832 cfs while the North Fork gage near Columbia Falls read 779 cfs compared to its median flow of 1,080 cfs.
Around this time of year, I sometimes wish we could skip the mud season that will soon descend upon northwest Montana and head straight to winter. The National Weather Service’s three-month outlook is forecasting normal temperatures and above normal precipitation starting in December.
So, don’t forget to buy a season pass at your local ski hill. Whitefish Mountain Resort season passes can be purchased at the current rate of $780 until Sept. 30 before prices spike to $1,160. At Blacktail Mountain Ski Area in Lakeside, a limited supply of passes will be available at $499 before prices go up.
I’m Maggie Dresser, here with this special weather report.
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