WEATHER SUMMARY FOR SOUTHERN OREGON AND NORTHERN CALIFORNIA We will see a hot day today, but cooling is already underway, and by tomorrow we will see below normal temps down in the 80s. A trough is going to move in that cools us down, and will also increase the chance for showers and storms. Temps will be in the 80s from Monday through Wednesday giving us a break from the heat. That will be appreciated by most I am sure. Additionally, the trough will be well supplied with monsoonal moisture from the Southwest. The cooler air aloft will help promote instability and it is looking like we will see a pretty good outbreak of thunderstorms tomorrow over the usual areas. Northern California may be seeing dry storms as the action gets going so the fire potential is high down there. The storms will become progressively wetter, but they look to produce a lot of lightning as they come into Oregon, and that we do not need to see. By Tuesday the chance for thunderstorms will expand to include the valleys of Southwest Oregon as well. The thinking here is that we will be seeing rain coming from the storms, so not as big a threat for fires. But, with critically dry fuels primed and ready to burn, all it takes is one lightning strike away from the rain core and you have a fire. As we get to Wednesday the storms move out of the area and a ridge builds in over us. This is going to get us back to triple digit heat by next weekend. So enjoy those cooler 80s while they last at the start of the week. Of concern for fire fighters...it looks like Thursday is going to be a windy day down in Northern California and east of the Cascades in Oregon. Could see some gusts on the ridges to 40 miles an hour. I would also expect to see RH levels take a dive in the afternoon and evening on Thursday. A Red Flag looks highly likely. If there are sleepers out there from the storms to come these conditions will bring them to life quickly. Any fires that are active when these conditions hit have the high risk of exploding in size.
Posted on: Sun, 20 Jul 2014 16:08:04 +0000
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