An Extreme Heat Warning is in effect right now across several Montana counties, issued jointly by the National Weather Service offices in Billings, Great Falls, and Glasgow. The warning covers Musselshell County, Cascade County below 5,000 feet, Western and Central Chouteau County, Madison River Valley, McCone County, Daniels County, Northern Phillips County, and Central and Southeast Phillips County. The warning period runs from July 31, 2026 at 12:29 PM MDT through August 1, 2026 at 12:30 PM MDT. If you live in or are traveling through any of these areas, the guidance below is directed specifically at you.
What NWS Is Telling Residents to Do Right Now
The National Weather Service has issued clear, direct instructions for everyone in the affected counties. Follow these steps for the duration of the warning period.
Hydrate consistently. Drink plenty of fluids throughout the day. Do not wait until you feel thirsty, as thirst is a late indicator of dehydration during extreme heat events.
Stay in an air-conditioned space. NWS Billings specifically instructs residents to stay in an air-conditioned room. If your home does not have air conditioning, identify a public cooling center, library, or other climate-controlled building in your area before temperatures peak.
Stay out of the sun. Limit any outdoor activity or travel that exposes you to direct sunlight, particularly during the hottest hours of the afternoon. If you must be outside, minimize your time and return indoors as quickly as possible.
Check on relatives and neighbors. NWS explicitly calls out this step. Elderly residents, young children, and people with certain medical conditions face the highest risk during extreme heat. A phone call or a brief in-person visit can make the difference for someone who may not have the ability to reach out themselves.
Never leave children or pets in a parked vehicle. This point is emphasized directly in the official warning: car interiors reach lethal temperatures within minutes, even with windows partially open and even when outside temperatures may feel tolerable in the shade. If you are running errands, bring children and pets inside with you. There are no safe exceptions during an active Extreme Heat Warning.
How This Fits Into a Broader Pattern of Preparedness
Extreme heat is the deadliest weather hazard in the United States on an annual basis, yet it receives less advance preparation than events like tornadoes or floods because it leaves no visible damage trail. Montana counties like those listed in this warning cover large rural areas where neighbors may be miles apart and checking in on someone requires deliberate effort rather than a walk across the street. At USRiskRadar.com, we track both acute events like this warning and longer-term hazard trends. Fire risk, for example, accounts for 17 of the last 30 federal disaster declarations over the past 60 days, with Washington, Colorado, Utah, and Oregon among the hardest-hit states, according to federal declaration data. Extreme heat and wildfire often overlap in the same season and the same landscapes. Building the habit now of monitoring alerts, maintaining fluid supplies, and keeping a mental list of vulnerable neighbors is the kind of preparation that applies across both hazard types, long after any single warning expires.
Monitor the latest updates directly from the National Weather Service at weather.gov. Alert status can change before the listed expiration time, and new warnings may be issued for adjacent areas.
For the fundamentals that apply beyond this specific alert, see our Extreme Heat Preparedness guide.
Source: National Weather Service (NWS Billings MT, NWS Great Falls MT, NWS Glasgow MT). Active alert data retrieved 2026-07-31 22:01 UTC via api.weather.gov.
