National Fire News

Gusty west to southwest winds will result in elevated to locally critical fire weather conditions across the southern Great Basin and northwest Arizona, with enhanced west winds in the Snake River Plain, as well. Minimum RH of 7-15% will be the rule again across much of the Great Basin into the West Slope and most of the Arizona Strip. Isolated mixed wet and dry thunderstorms will develop from central Nevada into the Four Corners and southwest Wyoming, while scattered wet thunderstorms develop from the Mogollon Rim into southern Arizona and much of New Mexico. Dry conditions are expected across the Northwest, with hotter temperatures locally approaching the century mark and RH as low as 10-25% west of the Cascades. These warmer conditions will be the result of thermal troughing that may lead to an increase in activity over the Olympic Peninsula. Onshore flow will deepen over California, bringing near average temperatures and an uptick in humidity. Farther east, a cold front will trigger scattered to widespread showers and thunderstorms from the Front Range to the Upper Midwest, while the Southern Plains will begin to dry out. Temperatures will be as much as 20-30 degrees below average over the northern Rockies and Upper Midwest. Look for thunderstorms with flash flood potential over portions of the Appalachians, in addition to the eastern Gulf Coast as a tropical wave tracks by just offshore. Waves of showers will continue to overspread western and central Alaska, maintaining below average temperatures and improvement in the fire environment. Eastern parts of the state will be dry but seasonably mild.