Once again the familiar aroma of wood smoke is coming through open windows in western Montana. Meteorologist Ryan Leach with the National Weather Service in Missoula explains where the smoke is originating.

“Most of that smoke is actually coming out of Idaho and Washington from a couple of fires burning over there,” said Leach. “Today, when they pick up, we’ve got west winds that are carrying the smoke this way and when the sun goes down and things stabilize, the smoke just settles into the valleys.”

Leach said to expect the smoke to hang around for a little while longer.

I expect the smoke to mix in a little in the afternoon, but not totally clear out, though,” he said. “We are under a ridge and it will just kind of mix up and become haze in the afternoon. I’m expecting it to build back in again this morning and probably also a little bit on Friday.”

A cold front with rain and cooler temperatures is expected to arrive in time for the weekend.

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