National Fire News

A weak atmospheric river will move into the Northwest this weekend, with the heaviest rain in western Washington and light to moderate precipitation for Oregon and the northern Rockies. Breezy and dry westerly downslope winds will occur ahead of the associated cold front across north-central and northeast Montana, as well. Upper-level ridging will remain over the Southwest and southern California bringing above normal temperatures and minimum relative humidity of 7-20% and areas of poor overnight recovery. The ridging over the southwestern US will persist into late next week, when another storm moves into the northwestern US with moderate precipitation and snow levels lowering to as low as 5,000 feet. A drier pattern is expected across the eastern US from the Plains to the East Coast. Two primarily dry cold fronts will move through, one this weekend and a stronger front Monday and Tuesday next week. Most wetting precipitation with the front will occur in the Great Lakes and Northeast, with only isolated showers occurring elsewhere, if they occur. Breezy west winds are expected today and tomorrow across the central Appalachians to the Northeast, with another period of breezy northwest winds early next week. Minimum relative humidity will be generally above 30%, but very dry air is expected to move in behind the second front with minimum humidity as low as 15% in the central Appalachians mid-next week. A strong storm will bring heavy precipitation to Alaska’s southern coast and panhandle this weekend, with periods of light snow for the Interior. Trade winds will continue across Hawai’i but briefly become weak Sunday into Monday as a cold front approaches with an increase in showers. National Predictive Services Outlook 6 Minutes for Safety: The 6 Minutes for Safety topic of the day is Helicopter Performance.