National Fire News

Elevated to locally critical conditions persist across the northern half of the West today. Hot, unstable conditions with 3-15% RH and poor overnight recovery will lead to extended burn periods. Breezy westerly winds will gust between 25 and 40 mph across much of the Northwest; strongest in the Cascade Gaps and along the northern Sierra Front. While cooler air is filtering west of the Cascades and lowering temperatures slightly in the Upper Columbia Basin, maximum temperatures will still exceed 100°F in lower elevations across California, the Great Basin, the central Rockies, the central and southern Plains, and the Southwest. Wet thunderstorm coverage remains well below average in the Southwest, with activity focused along the Mogollon Rim and southeast Arizona. However, there is concern for isolated dry lightning this afternoon extending into the central Sierra, southern Nevada, southern Utah, northern Arizona, and parts of central and northern New Mexico. Elsewhere, the eastern U.S. will see near-normal temperatures, while increased cloud cover and scattered thunderstorms bring slightly below-normal temperatures to the Lower Mississippi Valley and Gulf Coast. Warm, dry conditions continue in eastern Alaska, maintaining elevated potential in the Upper Tanana Valley. Additionally, critically dry fuels combined with hot, dry, and breezy conditions will result in high-risk significant fire potential in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.