Glacier National Park, Montana

I was in Glacier National Park Montana for a couple of days one August. The daytime temperature was near 90 degrees and in the evening big thunderstorms rolled in from the west.

I was sleeping in my tent at the Saint Mary campground and woke to thunder and the most beautiful display of lightning I had ever seen. The storm brought very little rain but the lightning was incredible.

The photos below show the sky and clouds as the storm came in over Wild goose Island on Saint Mary Lake. The following morning was beautiful and clear. A couple of days later smoke and fog from the fires the lightning had started filled the valleys and hugged the base of the mountains.

Clouds started to form in the sky to the west in the middle of the afternoon.

Sunset over Wild Goose Island on Saint Mary Lake

The colors in the sky just kept getting better.

Saint Mary Lake in Glacier Park just before the storm.

Just after dark.

The next morning was crisp, clear, and beautiful.

A few days later smoke filled the valley below Mount Cannon. Lightning associated with the thunderstorm had started several wildfires in the park.

Morning reflections of Divide, White Calf, and Curly Bear Mountains at Saint Mary Lake. Smoke from the forest fires and early morning fog hangs low on the mountains.

Smoke billows into the sky from a fire burning near Anaconda Peak and Flattop Mountain.