Unhealthy air quality as wildfires surround the region, cooler and rainy Wednesday
Over the weekend several new wildfires became realized as storms on Friday and Saturday generated dry lightning sparking new flames. The focus this weekend was varied as a couple new fires (Firestone and Flat Top) began over the high desert and grew quickly, while several smaller fires ignited over the Cascades (Mt. Bachelor Complex and Willamette Complex). The fires over the Cascades were plentiful as over a dozen new fire starts were determined.
As a result of the new fires this weekend, our air quality index readings have been in the unhealthy to very unhealthy range. This will continue for several days as there are not only the new fires, but the Mega Fire called the Rail Ridge Fire and the Wiley Flat Fire are still hot and throwing off significant smoke.
Please exercise caution this week, limit outdoor activities and wear a mask that will keep you safe from the particulate matter that is in the air.
There is some relief in sight with respect to the well above normal temperatures and dangerous air quality. An area of low pressure will push through the Beaver State Wednesday, dragging cold air behind it along with widely scattered rain showers. The winds are not going to be helpful with respect to the fires as they may fan the flames, and the rain will not be robust enough for extinguishing the fires, but we will see a cleaner atmosphere for a while.
We are way behind as far as rainfall is concerned, so we could use a good “wetting” rain. Hopefully we will get a good dose of wet weather for several hours on Wednesday. Central Oregon is expected to get about a quarter of an inch or more of rain, which is needed.
The afternoon high temperatures will be in the upper 50s to low 60s, so a major drop in air temperature. Normal for this time of year is the middle 70s, that should be obtained by the weekend.
Stay Safe
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