Valley Smoke From Canadian Fires - Lighting Storms Coming to Missoula

UPDATE -- 3:00 p.m. Wednesday, July 8.

The National Weather Service is predicting wet thunderstorms with the potential for flash flooding Thursday and Friday that could continue through the weekend. The southern Bitterroot Valley could be hardest hit.

Also of concern in Missoula could be the thousands of people participating in the Missoula Marathon on Saturday and Sunday.

The talk around Missoula for last 24 hours has been all about the smoke pouring into western Montana valleys.

Meteorologist Leanne Allegretto with the National Weather Service said there are currently no major fires burning in the Missoula area, despite the tinder-dry conditions.

"There are no fires in our area, but we're getting all the smoke from everywhere else north and west of us," Allegretto said. "There's quite a few large fires burning in British Columbia just north of Vancouver and the smoke got caught in the upper level flow and ended up right over western Montana. There's also a few fires in the Idaho panhandle and a few in Washington, as well. The air mass is just sitting over Missoula right now, and it's not moving."

Allegretto said a change in the weather is coming in the next few days that will bring both bad news and good news to the parched area.

"We probably will have three to four days straight of stationary thunderstorms," she said. "The good news is that we are expecting them to be very wet thunderstorms with a lot of rain, which is definitely needed. So, while there will be lightning, there won't be the gusty winds, and there will be lots of rain."

Allegretto said forecasters are meeting Wednesday afternoon to solidify their methods of communicating with fire agencies to share information about weather conditions that may affect how wildfires are fought.

Stage One conditions are still in effect, and the fire danger is still rated as extreme throughout western Montana.