Smoky and cooler conditions expected
The smoke from the Little Lava fire has been drifting over the region and will continue to do so for a few days. The flow of air is the weather feature that we must pay attention to with respect to air quality. The Bachelor Complex is to the south and west so when we have a west or southwest flow of air, that smoke comes into the 97 highway corridor. An Air Quality Alert is in place for Deschutes County until further notice due to the poor air quality from local fires.
The Pine fire in Central Deschutes County is smoldering and creeping today so the light winds and cooler conditions will help with fire suppression efforts for the next few days. The Rail Ridge fire made a run to the northwest in Wheeler County yesterday and provided a lot of smoke to Central Oregon as well. The only direction where we don’t have much activity is to the north. Winds from the south, east or west will bring smoke into the area. North winds may not have much smoke to transport, that would be our favorable flow. Today and tomorrow, we will be seeing the smoke from the west arrive along 97.
The temperatures are much cooler today than yesterday as we will be in the upper 60s to low 70s. Highs yesterday were in the 80s most locations. Thursday will be a few degrees cooler with a cool push of air arriving from the Pacific. There will be a mix of clouds and clear skies Thursday as well, with more clouds than clear skies. This will also not allow much of a warm up during the afternoon.
Friday will be slightly milder and breezy with the potential for the smoke to linger once again. The chance for rain over the next several days is near zero, with only a minor chance for a few showers over the Cascades.
Dry and above normal temperatures are likely this weekend as the mercury in the thermometer rises into the low and middle 70s. Monday may be the warmest day of this forecast period as highs peak in the upper 70s.
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