It’s been a boring past few weeks for Pacific Northwest weather bloggers. Portland, Seattle, and many other places around the Pacific Northwest have now gone a month without any measurable precipitation. For much of the past month, a large ridge of high pressure has been plopped right over us, shunting the storm track to the north and keeping us warmer and much drier than normal.
Credit: NOAA
When we get an extended period of warmer and drier-than-normal weather in the summer, it increases our vulnerability to wildfires. While a few blazes are occurring in Washington and Oregon right now, both British Columbia and California are far more active fire-wise. In British Columbia, a round of thunderstorms ignited blazes northeast of Vancouver 2 weeks ago, and there are currently 27 “fires of note” (155 wildfires total) that have displaced 45,000 people! California has 16 significant wildfires currently burning, and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection reported that “firefighters experienced extreme and aggressive fire behavior with active crowning, short- range spotting and uphill runs” today for the most vicious and least-contained wildfire there, the Detweiler Fire west of Yosemite National Park.
Firefighters will get a little help from Mother Nature over the next few days as an upper-level trough settles over the region, cooling temperatures and giving many places around the Pacific Northwest (including Seattle and Portland) a shot at their first measurable precipitation since June 20th! British Columbia will see far more rain than California, but the change to cooler temperatures, a moister air mass, and calmer winds should result in improving fire conditions throughout The Golden State tonight and tomorrow.
Credit: UW Atmospheric Sciences
Unfortunately, a ridge will move over the area for the weekend, giving us sunny skies, warming temperatures, and increasing fire danger. It sounds like perfect summertime weather (and it is), but I wish Mother Nature would help our firefighters first.
It may seem a bit ironic to have all these fires after a record wet and snowy winter, but the dry, hot summers of the West are very conducive to wildfires, especially when our dry summer thunderstorms roll in.
And finally, the most important part of this post: the Regional Climate Centers need your help! When I visited the Western Regional Climate Center to get the temperature/precipitation anomaly graphics I used in this post, I was dismayed to discover that the FY 2018 budget submitted to congress slashed funding for Regional Climate Centers by an astounding 84%. This cut would essentially end the Regional Climate Center program. Click here to fill out a petition to restore RCC funding, and call your local congressperson.
Thanks for reading!
Charlie
