Smoke Forecast for Friday, June 13, 2025 9:45 AM
Current Conditions
Air quality around the state has improved considerably over the last 24-hours. In the upper levels of the atmosphere, the flow has turned southwesterly. This should keep the bulk of the Canadian wildfire smoke north of the border.
Fire crews have made significant progress on the Hilger Valley fire, about 20 miles north of Helena, in recent days. The fire is now 77% contained.
At 9:00 AM Friday, Libby, Seeley Lake, Havre, Glasgow, Sidney, Miles City, and Glendive’s air quality are Moderate.
The HRRR smoke model shows significantly less surface smoke over the state by Saturday afternoon.
Source: HRRR-smoke
Forecast
A southwesterly flow aloft should remain in place across the state on Friday and into the weekend. It will pump moist and unstable air into the region, setting the stage for rain and thunderstorm chances each day. The southwesterly flow will also help keep much of the Canadian wildfire smoke north of the US-Canada border.
Canada continues to deal with an unusually active wildfire season so far. According to the Canadian Wildland Information System, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba are well ahead of the 10-year average in terms of acreage burned to this point. So far, just under 8 million total acres of land have burned in Canada. According to data from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center, the 25-year average of land burned in Canada for an entire season is 7.3 million acres. Montana will continue to see impacts from these Canadian wildfires in the weeks and months ahead.
Conditions can change quickly as weather could stimulate active fires and the likelihood of new starts increases. Please keep track of concentrations at todaysair.mtdeq.us or the Fire and Smoke Map.
Friday morning’s satellite image shows an area of low pressure moving across the state, with light smoke covering parts of northeastern Montana.
Source: NOAA
Summary
Canada continues to endure an unusually busy start to their wildfire season. However, a southwesterly flow should keep the bulk of the smoke north of the US-Canada border in the coming days.
Tags: Smoke Forecast 2025