NWS warns of persistent smoke and elevated fire weather in Missoula region
The National Weather Service office in Missoula said smoke transported from active fires in Washington and Oregon, along with hot, dry and breezy weather, was expected to continue affecting western Montana and could worsen air quality and visibility.
In a fire-weather product issued July 28, the agency said deep southwesterly flow was carrying smoke into the region. It said air quality would likely remain poor and could worsen before improving, while hot, dry and breezy conditions continued across the Northern Rockies.
The outlook covers the Missoula region and western Montana. The product did not provide a current Air Quality Index value for Missoula or identify a precise end time for the smoke and fire-weather pattern, describing conditions as persisting for the foreseeable future.
Smoke and fire-weather concerns
The expected combination of transported smoke, reduced visibility, heat, wind and dry vegetation presents two related concerns: smoke can affect outdoor air conditions, and hot, dry and breezy weather can elevate fire-weather concerns.
The NWS description is a forecast outlook, not a report that conditions are the same everywhere in Missoula County. Smoke concentrations can change rapidly with wind direction, fire behavior and atmospheric mixing.
The agency did not say that a particular fire directly threatened Missoula County. It also did not report an evacuation, shelter-in-place order or a specific hazardous air-quality category for the area.
Advice for residents
The National Weather Service advised residents to limit outdoor exposure when smoke is thickest and to check on vulnerable neighbors and people with respiratory ailments.
Missoula County maintains wildfire-smoke guidance for residents, noting that regional fires can send smoke into the county. Its guidance recommends monitoring air quality and planning for cool, clean indoor air.
Residents seeking to adjust outdoor activity should monitor current air-quality information because the available NWS outlook does not include an August 3 AQI reading for Missoula. The county’s smoke resources are intended for a region where wildfire smoke can affect local conditions even when fires are outside the county.
What comes next
No specific deadline or expiration time was included in the NWS material. The agency’s July 28 outlook described the hot, dry, breezy and smoky pattern as continuing for the foreseeable future, with the broader event expected to persist into early August.
Sources
- Wildfire Smoke and Hot, National Weather Service Missoula
- Dealing with Wildfire Smoke, Missoula County
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