Mercury hits 102 degrees Sunday; sets heat record

Just a day after recording the hottest June day in Kalispell’s history, Sunday’s hot temperatures upped the ante by topping out at 102 degrees, blowing away the old records for the day and month.

The previous high on June 28 was 92 degrees in 2007. The highest recorded temperature in June was just set Saturday at 97 degrees.

Before this weekend’s heat wave, the highest June temperature ever recorded in Kalispell was 96 degrees on June 22, 1955. The National Weather Service has tracked temperatures in the Flathead for more than 100 years.

The thermometer read triple digits by 3:55 p.m., according to the National Weather Service. Sunday’s low was 58 degrees.

The heat wave is projected to continue unabated into this week, with daily highs “cooling” to 96 today, 92 Tuesday and 91 Wednesday and Thursday. Scattered strong evening thunderstorms are predicted tonight with 50 mph gusts possible and brief heavy rain.

Sunday was the sixth 90-plus degree day this month and the fifth time a daily record was broken or tied.

A heat advisory was put in effect from Saturday morning to Sunday night for Western Montana and parts of Idaho.

Scorching high temperatures of 108 degrees in Libby, 107 degrees in Trout Creek, Hot Springs and St. Regis, and 106 degrees in Eureka plagued the rest of northwestern Montana.

Sunday marked the 25th straight day without measurable precipitation in Kalispell. The last rain was measured on June 3 at the National Weather Service gauge at Glacier Park International Airport.

Highs are expected to stay above 90 every day through July 4.

Reporter Ryan Murray can be reached at 758-4436 or rmurray@dailyinterlake.com.