The National Weather Service this afternoon issued this warning over concerns about possible thunderstorms coming over the Olympic Peninsula on Saturday morning in the wake of incendiary conditions this week.
URGENT – FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
342 PM PDT FRI AUG 17 2012
…LIGHTNING EVENT ON SATURDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT HAS THE
POTENTIAL TO START NEW FIRES…
.ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO SPREAD
ACROSS ALL OF WESTERN WASHINGTON ON SATURDAY WITH ONLY SMALL
AMOUNTS OF RAINFALL. LIGHTNING WOULD MOST LIKELY AFFECT THE COAST
AND OLYMPIC PENINSULA IN THE MORNING AND EARLY AFTERNOON…THEN
LIGHTNING WOULD PROGRESS EAST TO THE CASCADES BY LATE AFTERNOON
AND EVENING…POSSIBLY LINGERING OVER THE CASCADES THROUGH THE
NIGHT. GIVEN VERY DRY FUEL CONDITIONS… LIGHTNING HAS THE
POTENTIAL TO START NEW WILDFIRES. ONLY THE IMMEDIATE COAST AND
LOWER CHEHALIS VALLEY ARE LEFT OUT OF THIS RED FLAG WARNING DUE TO
THE LIKELY MOISTENING OF FINE FUELS FROM INCOMING MARINE AIR.
HOWEVER…COASTAL LOCATIONS HAVE THE SAME RISK OF LIGHTNING AS
OTHER WESTERN WASHINGTON LOCATIONS.
WAZ653>659-661-662-180645-
/O.UPG.KSEW.FW.A.0001.120818T1800Z-120819T1800Z/
/O.NEW.KSEW.FW.W.0003.120818T1900Z-120819T1200Z/
STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA AND NORTHWEST INTERIOR LOWLANDS-
CENTRAL AND SOUTH PUGET SOUND LOWLANDS-
BLACK HILLS AND SOUTHWEST INTERIOR LOWLANDS-
NORTHEAST PUGET SOUND LOWLANDS GENERALLY BELOW 1500 FEET-
SOUTHEAST PUGET SOUND LOWLANDS GENERALLY BELOW 1500 FEET-
WEST SLOPES OF THE NORTH CASCADES GENERALLY ABOVE 1500 FEET-
WEST SLOPES OF THE CENTRAL CASCADES GENERALLY ABOVE 1500 FEET-
EAST PORTION OF THE OLYMPIC MOUNTAINS-
EAST PORTION OF NORTH CASCADES NATIONAL PARK/LAKE CHELAN NATIONAL
RECREATIONAL AREA-
342 PM PDT FRI AUG 17 2012
…RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM NOON SATURDAY TO 5 AM PDT
SUNDAY FOR LIGHTNING FOR FIRE WEATHER ZONES 653…654…
655…656…657…658…659…661 AND 662…
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SEATTLE HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG
WARNING…WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM NOON SATURDAY TO 5 AM PDT
SUNDAY. THE FIRE WEATHER WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.
* THUNDERSTORMS…ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED
TO DEVELOP OVER THE INTERIOR OF WESTERN WASHINGTON ON SATURDAY
AFTERNOON…THEN SPREAD INTO THE CASCADES ON SATURDAY EVENING.
* IMPACTS…LIGHTNING WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO START NEW FIRES.
THE EFFICIENCY WITH WHICH THE LIGHTNING MAY START NEW FIRES IS
EXPECTED TO BE HIGH.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
A RED FLAG WARNING MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS
ARE EITHER OCCURRING NOW…OR WILL SHORTLY. A COMBINATION OF
STRONG WINDS…LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY…AND WARM TEMPERATURES WILL
CREATE EXPLOSIVE FIRE GROWTH POTENTIAL.
