High fire danger into the evening, dry and breezy pattern remains

Monday and Tuesday had temperature readings in the middle to upper 90s as a brief round of hot weather took over Central Oregon. The highs today will be above normal, reaching the middle to upper 80s as we begin a relatively “cooler” pattern heading into the weekend. There will be plenty of sunshine to go around Thursday as highs will be only slightly above the normal high of 80°.

Currently the region is under a Red Flag Warning until 9pm Wednesday night due to the dry air, dry fuel and breezy to windy conditions. Of the fires that have been recognized today, the Grizzly Flat Fire is the largest at 50 acres as of 3 pm. Picture in picture was from 2 pm. Conditions are ripe for rapid growth in the area.

We did see some pockets of heavy rain Tuesday, but not a good soaking rain. The rain is always a help, but when it falls at that level of intensity, most of it drains away. At least some area reservoirs got some added water, just not overall beneficial. We will take what we can get.

The Fourth of July weekend will start out below normal as there is a slight chance for some light rain early in the day. The rain will be light and mainly before noon, so it should not impact any of the regional firework’s displays.  There may be some breezy weather on Friday, which may impact the displays, but the winds will not be too robust, maybe in the 10 – 15 mph range at times throughout the day.  

Saturday and Sunday will be dry and warm as we get back into the low to middle 80s.  Mostly sunny skies are on the docket for both days so the weekend should be dry and quiet.

Monday will be the beginning of what could be a long stretch of 90° weather as we will be dealing with above normal summer heat for about a week or more. This is a recipe for trouble as far as wildfire ignitions are concerned as the dry and hot pattern is never a good combination in the summer, especially when it persists for several days.

Please stay safe and have fun.

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