National Fire News

An overall escalation in fire activity is expected today. Thunderstorm chances will increase substantially over parts of the West as a cut-off low pressure system offshore approaches California. A warming and drying trend will otherwise continue throughout the Intermountain West, while monsoonal thunderstorms will be most prolific along and east of the Divide from Wyoming to New Mexico. Heavy rain and a few severe storms will continue from the Central Plains to the Great Lakes, in addition to the coastal Southeast. Mixed wet/dry storms will quickly increase this afternoon from the Sierra into higher elevations across all of northern California and southern Oregon, extending into northern Nevada/Utah and southern Idaho. Slow storm motions will result in some locally heavy rain, but abundant lightning and erratic outflow winds can be expected, and storms will be drier with inland extent. Isolated dry thunderstorms may redevelop tonight in northern California, while isolated dry thunderstorms will be possible on the western fringes of monsoonal moisture to include western Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico this afternoon, as well. Areas of elevated fire weather are possible elsewhere in the Great Basin and Desert Southwest, where it will be locally breezy with humidity as low as 3-8% after poorer morning recoveries. Established large fires from southern Nevada into the Four Corners states are expected to respond to the drying fire environment, and holdovers from recent thunderstorm activity may emerge. In the Northwest, westerly Cascade gap winds will increase, gusting as high as 30-45 mph amid humidity as low as 15-25%. Significant impacts are possible to the Burdoin Fire in the Gorge as elevated to briefly critical fire weather returns.