Montana News
Meteorologists say August’s turbulent weather was par for the course
With Montana News, I'm Elinor Smith. Western Montana's weather this month featured a little bit of everything. Heat, powerful storms, some rain, and even an early taste of late fall. In other words, experts say it was a normal August. MTPR's Edward O'Brien reports. -August's grab bag of weather was a far cry from July's unrelenting triple-digit heat wave. Part for the course, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Luke Robinson in Missoula. -It may seem crazy, but when you look at the grant and scheme of things and you look at historical averages, it's not a little bit uncommon. -Recent thunderstorms knocked out power to thousands of Raveli County residents and sparked a new wildfire. Robinson says those storms were the byproduct of wet air from the West, colliding with warm, dry Montana air. Strong storms are not uncommon in the Rockies this time of year. Wednesdays shot of Chile, and in some of North West Montana's higher terrain, snowy conditions was jarring, but not unheard of according to Robinson. Temperatures are already rebounding and will climb into well above normal readings this weekend. Forecasters now say there's a 70% probability of La Niemia conditions starting in November, which could lead to colder and snowier conditions than last winter. Reporting from Missoula, I'm Edward O'Brien.