Wildfire in Washington, July 1 to 31, 2025

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Spokane WA
1228 AM PDT Tue Jul 1 2025

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Hot Tuesday including moderate to locally major HeatRisk.

- A 15% chance of thunderstorms producing little rain Wednesday

- Dry and Windy conditions Wednesday in Central Washington with
  elevated to critical fire weather concerns.

- Not as hot Thursday and Independence Day with high
  temperatures in the 80s

&&

.SYNOPSIS...
Hot Temperatures will occur on Tuesday with high temperatures
in the 90s with the hottest locations near 100 degrees. A weak
weather system tracking through Wednesday will deliver a slight
chance of showers and thunderstorms producing little rain. Dry
and windy conditions will also lead to increased fire weather
concerns on Wednesday in Central Washington. Temperatures will
cool into the 80s for Thursday and Independence Day.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Today through tonight: Temperatures continue to increase due to the
ridge being directly over the state of Washington. Low temperatures
this morning will struggle to fall below 60 for much of the area.
Later today, high temperatures will be in the mid to high 90s in
most areas, with some areas such as Moses Lake, Omak, And Lewiston
reaching triple digits. With widespread Moderate Heat Risk values
and an expansion of local Major Heat Risk values, today will be the
hottest day of the warmup. There is a Heat Advisory valid through
9pm this evening. With these Heat Risk values, people without
adequate cooling and hydration are at higher risk for heat-related
illnesses.

Wednesday through Thursday: A low pressure system off the coast of
British Columbia will bring a trough through tomorrow, resulting in
a chance for thunderstorms, gusty Cascade gap winds, and very dry
conditions. Moisture from Oregon will move northeastward into the
forecast area, bringing thunderstorm chances to far eastern
Washington and the northern Idaho Panhandle. Though chances for PoPs
increase in these areas, chances will be small (15 percent), and
result in very little rainfall. Main concerns with any isolated
thunderstorms that form will be lightning and the potential for fire
starts. In central Washington, the trough moving over the lee of the
Cascades will bring gusty winds to the Wenatchee, Waterville
Plateau, Moses Lake, and upper Columbia Basin areas. These winds
combined with relative humidity values lowering to the teens will
lead to increased fire weather risks. A Fire Weather Watch has been
issued for the Okanogan Valley, Central Washington Cascades,
Waterville Plateau, and Western Columbia Basin areas from Wednesday
afternoon through Wednesday evening.

Thursday through Sunday: Ensemble clusters are in better agreement
of lower heights sticking around through Saturday of next weekend,
which will allow temperatures to drop to slightly above normal by
Independence Day. Cascade gap winds will remain breezy on Thursday
and Friday. Relative humidities will slightly increase, bringing
values back into the 20s. By Sunday, long range models show another
ridge moving into the area, increasing temperatures back into the
90s. Clusters overall favor continued ridging, and the CPC's 8 to 10
day outlook shows chances for above normal temperatures and near
normal precipitation. /AS

&&

.AVIATION...
06Z TAFS: VFR conditions will prevail through the next 24 hours.

FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND/OR ALTERNATE SCENARIOS: High confidence
in conditions remaining VFR.

-----------------------

Confidence descriptors:
Low - Less than a 30 percent chance
Moderate - 30 to 70 percent chance
High - Greater than a 70 percent chance

For additional probabilistic information for NWS Spokane
airports, please refer to the Aviation Dashboard on our
webpage: https:/www.weather.gov/otx/avndashboard

&&

.Preliminary Point Temps/PoPs...
Spokane        96  64  91  58  84  55 /   0   0  20  10   0  10
Coeur d'Alene  95  64  90  58  83  56 /   0   0  20  10   0  10
Pullman        93  60  86  54  79  52 /   0   0  20  10  10  10
Lewiston      101  69  96  63  90  62 /   0   0  20  10  10  10
Colville       95  55  92  49  83  47 /   0   0  20  10   0   0
Sandpoint      92  58  88  54  81  52 /   0   0  20  10   0  10
Kellogg        92  68  87  60  79  59 /   0   0  20  10  10  10
Moses Lake    100  63  95  57  87  55 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
Wenatchee      99  68  92  62  84  59 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
Omak           99  62  95  56  87  55 /   0   0   0   0   0   0

&&

.OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WA...Heat Advisory until 9 PM PDT this evening for Central Chelan
     County-Lower Garfield and Asotin Counties-Moses Lake Area-
     Northeast Mountains-Okanogan Highlands-Okanogan Valley-
     Spokane Area-Upper Columbia Basin-Washington Palouse-
     Waterville Plateau-Wenatchee Area-Western Okanogan County.
     Fire Weather Watch from Wednesday afternoon through Wednesday
     evening for Foothills of Central Washington Cascades
     (Zone 705)-Okanogan Valley (Zone 703)-Waterville Plateau
     (Zone 706)-Western Columbia Basin (Zone 707).
ID...Heat Advisory until 9 PM PDT this evening for Coeur d'Alene
     Area-Idaho Palouse-Lewis and Southern Nez Perce Counties-
     Lewiston Area-Northern Panhandle.

&&