Potential for lightning and fire starts today. Hotter weather looms for the weekend.

The Oregon DEQ has issued an Air Quality Alert for southern Morrow and southern/eastern Umatilla counties due to smoke from the Lone Rock Fire. This runs until 12 PM Wednesday.

NWS Pendleton has issued an Excessive Heat Warning for the Kittitas and Yakima valleys through 10 PM Thursday.

NWS Pendleton has issued a Heat Advisory for the foothills of the Blue Mountains until 10 PM Wednesday, and for the Lower Columbia Basin until 10 PM Thursday

Today: It’ll be another day with highs about 10 degrees above average. Highs will be in the mid-80s in the mountains, with low to mid-100s in the Kittitas/Yakima valleys, Lower Columbia Basin, and in the foothills of the Blues. Unlike days previous, today will actually have a fair amount of cloud cover. This’ll come along with some scattered thunderstorm chances throughout the day. The best chances for lightning will be in the mountains, and this spells trouble when it comes to prospects of fire starts. Our fire fuels are very dry and energized. Fire fuel energy will be between the 97th and 99th percentiles compared to historical data. Also, light haze will swirl through the region, although haze/smoke might be a bit thicker in Morrow and Umatilla counties due to their proximity to the Lone Rock Fire.

Tonight: Into the late evening, the thunderstorm threat should start to die down. Skies will also start to clear, although light haze will still linger. Winds will stay calm for the most part, although they could ramp up in the Kittitas Valley. Those gusts, in particular, could come out of the northwest up to 25 MPH. Overnight lows will continue their mild streak. It’ll be in the mid-50s to low-60s in the mountains, with mid-60s for the Kittitas/Yakima valleys and in the Lower Columbia Basin. It’ll be near 70 degrees for some stretches of the foothills of the Blues.

Extended: Thankfully we don’t have any thunderstorms in the forecast for Thursday. However, haze will still be swirling around the region. Also, it’ll still be hot! Highs will still be about 10 degrees above average (near 105 degrees in the Tri-Cities). Highs will stay pretty steady through Saturday, and then they could jump up on Sunday. It’ll be about 15 degrees above average by then (close to 110 degrees in the Tri Cities). However, it appears as if some slightly cooler weather is on the way for Monday and Tuesday. We might be cooled off by more thunderstorm chances, though, from Sunday through Tuesday. That’s more bad news for fire start prospects, as fire fuels will still be very energized and chomping at the bit to be burned!

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