Alert archive / Idaho / Red Flag Warnings in 2026
Red Flag Warning 11, NWS Missoula, MT
NWS Missoula, MT issued this red flag warning at Aug 25, 2026, 12:07 PM PDT for 5 counties in Idaho. It took effect at Aug 26, 2026, 11:00 AM PDT. It was in force for 8 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- Aug 25, 2026, 12:07 PM PDT (19:07 UTC)
- In effect from
- Aug 26, 2026, 11:00 AM PDT
- Expired
- Aug 26, 2026, 7:00 PM PDT
- In force
- 8 hr
- Issued by
- NWS Missoula, MT
Counties Clearwater County, ID, Idaho County, ID, Latah County, ID, Lewis County, ID, Nez Perce County, ID
The radar
The Spokane radar (KOTX), 180 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:05 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.
Open the radar archive at this moment
The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.
The nearest sounding before it
Great_falls, MT (KTFX), launched 12:00Z, 7.1 hours before the alert went out and 442 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1530 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 24 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -17 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 235 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted.
352 WWUS85 KMSO 251907 RFWMSO URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Missoula MT 107 PM MDT Tue Aug 25 2026 ...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM TO 7 PM PDT WEDNESDAY DUE TO WIND AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY FOR PALOUSE/HELLS CANYON... IDZ102-260315- /O.NEW.KMSO.FW.W.0011.260826T1800Z-260827T0200Z/ Palouse/Hells Canyon- 1207 PM PDT Tue Aug 25 2026 ...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM TO 7 PM PDT WEDNESDAY... The National Weather Service in Missoula MT has issued a Red Flag Warning. * AFFECTED AREA...Fire Weather Zone 102. The drier and windier areas will be locations along and south of Highway 12. * TIMING...From 11 AM to 7 PM PDT Wednesday. * WINDS...Southwest winds 15 to 20 mph with gusts 30 to 35 mph. * RELATIVE HUMIDITY...Relative Humidity between 10 to 15 percent. * IMPACTS...Any fires that develop will spread rapidly. Outdoor burning is not recommended. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Please advise the appropriate officials or fire crews in the field of this Red Flag Warning. && $$
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this red flag warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Missoula, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before this red flag warning went out at Aug 25, 2:52 AM PDT, 9 hours 15 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 25, 2:52 AM PDT, 9 hours 15 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Missoula MT 352 AM MDT Tue Aug 25 2026 .DISCUSSION... KEY MESSAGES: - Warmest temperatures today and Wednesday. - Thunderstorm chances this afternoon, increasing in coverage and northward extent for Wednesday, bringing gusty outflow and lightning. - Pacific Northwest trough brings gusty winds later this week and cooler temperatures for the weekend. High pressure will maintain a warming trend across the Northern Rockies today and tomorrow with high temperatures running roughly 10 degrees above seasonal averages. Light southeasterly winds will reroute smoke from fires to the east causing localized reductions in air quality and minor impacts to long-range visibility. Monsoonal moisture will begin to surge northward today reintroducing shower and thunderstorm chances, primarily across southwest Montana and central Idaho, extending as far northward as the I-90 corridor. Erratic outflow wind gusts of 30 to 40 mph will be commonplace, with isolated stronger gusts in the 50 mph range possible across southwest Montana and Lemhi County. Deeper moisture will encompass the region by Wednesday, expanding the coverage of convective shower and storm chances. Ensemble forecast guidance maintains high confidence in an approaching Pacific northwest upper-level trough late this week into the weekend. This transition will increase synoptic-scale westerly and southwesterly winds for Thursday and Friday introducing another prolonged period of elevated fire weather conditions. The incoming trough will also provoke a longer-term active weather pattern with much cooler temperatures for this coming weekend. && .AVIATION... High pressure will maintain widespread VFR weather conditions across the region today, though warming temperatures will significantly increase density altitudes, particularly at high- elevation terminals like KBTM. Degraded slant-range visibility aloft is anticipated today due to wildfire smoke throughout the afternoon. Monsoonal moisture moving northward will introduce isolated to scattered thunderstorms starting this afternoon around 25/2200z, particularly near KSMN and KBTM. These high- based storms will be capable of erratic convective outflow wind gusts of generally 30 to 40 knots near storm cores. && .MSO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MT...None. ID...None. &&
Nearby
Red Flag Warnings in Idaho, 2026Every red flag warning in 2026
Sources
The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.