After the next couple of days, 90 degrees will seem cool

The hottest days are still ahead of us. And even a weekend cool down means temperatures just returning to seasonal averages.

Through Tuesday we have had 16 consecutive days of highs reaching 90° or hotter as recorded at the Billings Airport.. Wednesday and Thursday both have good odds of reaching triple digit temperatures, especially from Billings to the east.

After a warm start in the 60s and 70s Wednesday afternoon, highs are expected to reach the upper 90s to low one hundreds West of Billings and 100 to perhaps as hot as 108 in the eastern Plains and through northern Wyoming.

Haze and smoke could hold back that warm up by a few degrees as we continue to see air quality issues, especially in eastern Montana and northern Wyoming. Between the heat and the smoke, try to limit outdoor activity over the course of the next 48 hours.

A cold front moves through the area on Thursday, producing showers and thunderstorms. The timing on this system will be extremely important. It could pump temperatures up into the late afternoon and create an environment for wildfire starts with lightning and wind.

At the same time, it will also bring the temperatures down for the weekend, with highs in the 80s to low 90s expected each day Friday, Saturday and Sunday. That's typical for the end of July based on the 30 year average.