Montana News Roundup: No Drought help Coming From the Pacific

It doesn't look like there will be much relief from the Pacific drought for Montana in the coming weeks, as climatologists do not anticipate any significant shift to "La Niña" or "El Niño" ocean temperatures.

The latest outlook suggests that while there has been a slight cooling in ocean surface temperatures in the past couple of weeks, it's too early to know whether that signals a switch to the more predictable currents that influence our snow and rainfall in the Northern Rockies.

The Climate Prediction Center says the forecast for La Niña, which traditionally brings Montana and the Northwest a wetter and cooler winter, remains "uncertain." Actually, right now the outlook suggests the ENSO-neutral conditions have a higher chance of continuing into the fall. If a weak La Niña does develop, it probably won't show up until after October and may not represent much of a change.

    🌵  It's important to note that mid-summer outlooks can be unpredictable, so forecasters will be watching those sea surface temperatures closely in the coming weeks.

T-storms, more rain forecast

The National Weather Service is forecasting the threat of additional thunderstorms as we go through the rest of this week, with the possibility of severe storms here and there with heavy rain, such as the ones that hit Missoula, the Bitterroot and the HiLine, and the I-90 corridor over the past few days. But generally, the long-term forecast is starting to trend to cooler weather, with more showers next week.

Fires holding

That would be good news for firefighters. DNRC reporting crews are staying busy on the Dearborn Fire, which has burned just short of 200 acres since it was started by lightning near Wolf Creek.

     The Sucker Fire near Lincoln is holding at 80 acres.

Manhunt continues for suspect in Montana couple's murder

Arkansas State Police are still looking for the suspect wanted for murdering a former Miles City couple as they were on a hike with their daughters at a state park.

NBC News had reported over the weekend that 43-year-old Clinton Brink and his 41-year-old wife Cristen, were murdered as they were walking in Devil's Den State Park. Their two girls, aged 7 and 9, were unharmed and are with their family.

     The FBI has also been called in to help hunt for the attacker.

     There's been no word of a motive for the slayings of the couple, who had only recently moved from Montana.

Person of interest sought in Billings shooting

Billings Police are identifying a "person of interest" now connected to last week's fatal shooting of a Lame Deer man. Detectives are looking for 27-year-old Sage Francisco Spang and asking anyone with information on his whereabouts to call.

Arrest made for Missoula pedestrian death

Missoula Police are charging the driver involved in yesterday's death of a pedestrian on a busy street with negligent homicide.

Investigators say a man was killed when the driver left West Broadway, driving up onto the sidewalk shortly after noon in the 1100 block. Officers say the victim was unresponsive when they arrived on the scene. A woman suffered minor injuries when she was struck by debris from a tree that was hit by a car. The 33-year-old driver remained on scene and is cooperating with authorities.

    📲 Police would still like to hear from additional witnesses.

More West Nile cases reported

An update on the West Nile virus story we had yesterday. State officials are now saying there are more cases that are being reported.

In addition to the Cascade County report near Vaughn, DPHHS now says three mosquito pools have tested positive in Lewis & Clark County. As we reported yesterday, two horses have tested positive for WNV in Sheridan and Custer counties, and now the state has added another horse case in Daniels County to the list.

What's with the military around the UM campus?

If you're seeing a lot of military activity around the University of Montana campus in the next few days, don't be alarmed. The Montana National Guard's 83rd Civil Support team is doing training for a Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives event.

      The exercise is designed to certify the team to help local authorities in a wide variety of possible incidents.