WEATHER WARNING: The current heatwave with very high fire risk continues | Weather

Red Flag Warning for the northern and southern Blue Mountains of Oregon and Washington and the upper and lower eastern slopes of the Cascades until late Wednesday evening…

Extreme heat warnings and advisories for parts of north-central and northeast Oregon and central, south-central and southeast Washington through Wednesday night…

Fire warning for the Wenatchee, Kittitas and Yakima valleys, the Canadian border near the North Cascades through the Columbia Basin to the eastern end of the Columbia River Gorge from Wednesday afternoon into Wednesday evening…

• Wind speed 15-25 mph

• Gusts 25-35 mph

• Very low humidity and temperatures of 105-115°

• In dry, windy and hot weather, fires can start very easily and spread RAPIDLY.

An expanding high pressure system is working like a convection oven and will continue to heat us up through mid-week. Temperatures will be 15-25° above average, potentially setting new records in the first half of the week. There is little relief overnight, with lows set to be between 18 and 21 degrees. Morning temperatures will remain warm, giving the record heat a head start. There is a chance of setting new heat records almost everywhere from today through Wednesday.

The heat-bringing ridge will shift its axis eastward by Thursday afternoon after a small low pressure system brings a cold front to the Pacific Northwest. “Cooler” temperatures drop to just under 100 to just under 105 degrees F, with breezy to gusty winds in the afternoon, increasing our fire danger. Winds will pick up Wednesday afternoon, ushering in the front overnight, creating high fire danger. The NWS has issued a Fire Weather Warning for Wednesday afternoon into Wednesday night, as low humidity, breezy winds, and high temperatures are expected. Winds of 15 to 25 mph will be experienced on the lower eastern slopes of the Cascades and in the Yakima and Kittitas Valleys, with gusts in those areas of 25 to 35 mph. This will be ahead of the fast-moving front that continues Thursday night into Friday morning.

The ridge continues to dominate the south and we’ll be riding its edge all weekend, with temperatures continuing to be in the triple digits. From Thursday through early next week we’ll stay in the low triple digits, 10-15° above average. No showers and just a few brief clouds on Sunday if anyone wants to cool off from the heat.

Tri-Cities:

Tuesday: 110/65

Wednesday: 109/63

Thursday: 102/60

Friday: 104/63

Saturday: 104/64

Sunday: 102/63

Monday: 100/62

Yakima:

Tuesday: 109/67

Wednesday: 106/65

Thursday: 99/62

Friday: 101/63

Saturday: 102/65

Sunday: 101/64

Monday: 99/63

Pendleton:

Tuesday: 108/69

Wednesday: 105/63

Thursday: 98/60

Friday: 100/63

Saturday: 100/64

Sunday: 99/62

Monday: 99/61

Walla-Walla:

Tuesday: 107/70

Wednesday: 105/67

Thursday: 97/63

Friday: 100/65

Saturday: 100/67

Sunday: 101/66

Monday: 99/63

Ellensburg:

Tuesday: 107/63

Wednesday: 101/65

Thursday: 96/59

Friday: 97/61

Saturday: 98/63

Sunday: 99/62

Monday: 97/58