986
FXUS66 KPDT 170555
AFDPDT
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
1055 PM PDT TUE JUN 16 2026
KEY MESSAGES
- RED FLAG WARNINGS IN EFFECT FOR CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER
CONDITIONS WEDNESDAY
- BREEZY TO WINDY WEDNESDAY
UPDATE...ISSUED 1048 AM PDT JUN 16 2026
RED FLAG RISK IS HITTING THE 80% THRESHOLD FOR CRITERIA IN A
COUPLE OF ZONES, OR700 AND WA690 FOR WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. DRIER
AIR WILL BE THE FAVORING FACTOR TO LEAN INTO RED FLAG WARNINGS
DESPITE THE WEAKENING WINDS BEHIND THE FRONT ON WEDNESDAY. DEW
POINTS WILL BE ABOUT 10 DEGREES LOWER ACROSS THE KITTITAS
VALLEY/WA690 ALLOWING LOWER RH AND INCREASED RISK FOR FIRE
SPREAD IN THE AFTERNOON, AS WHAT IS LEFTOVER FROM THE INITIAL
STRONG GRADIENT HELPS PUSH SUSTAINED WINDS BACK TO NEAR 30 MPH
AGAIN IN THE AFTERNOON. COMBINED WIND AND RH THRESHOLDS ARE
LOWER ACROSS OR700 HOWEVER STILL MEETING THE RED FLAG CRITERIA.
DISCUSSION...ISSUED 312 AM PDT TUE JUN 16 2026
CURRENT SATELLITE SHOULD SOME CLOUDS FORMING OVER THE AREA DUE
TO THE SHORTWAVE. THIS HAS ASSISTED WITH KEEPING THE OVERNIGHT
TEMPERATURES WARM. CURRENT GROUND OBSERVATIONS SO MANY
LOCATIONS THROUGH THE BASIN WITH TEMPERATURES IN THE LOW 70S AT
330 AM. TEMPERATURES TOMORROW WILL REMAIN IN THE 90S THROUGH THE
BASIN (70-90%) WITH CENTRAL, N. CENTRAL AND THE FOOTHILLS
SEEING HIGH 80S (70- 90%) WHILE THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OUTSIDE OF
CENTRAL OR WILL SEE THE HIGH 70S TO LOW 80S (70-90%). MODELS
SHOW THE RIDGE TO REMAIN IN PLACE OVER THE LONG TERM PERIOD WITH
A FEW WEAK SHORTWAVES ON WEDNESDAY AND SATURDAY BRINGING ONLY A
SLIGHT TEMPERATURE DIFFERENCE TO THE REGION. OTHERWISE, DRY AND
WARM CONDITIONS WILL PERSIST THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK.
MODELS SHOW THE SHORTWAVE THAT IS MOVING OVER THE RIDGE WILL
BRING A TIGHTENING OF THE SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENTS. IN HOUSE
CALCULATIONS USING THE GFS, NAM AND RAP ALL SHOW A TIGHTENING
OF BETWEEN 9-12 MB. THIS WILL BRING INCREASED WINDS ACROSS THE
REGION, ESPECIALLY THROUGH THE GAPS AND ALONG THE FOOTHILLS. DUE
TO THIS, AN WIND ADVISORY HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR TODAY FROM 10 AM
TO 11 PM IN THE SIMCOE HIGHLANDS OF KLICKITAT COUNTY AND THROUGH
THE KITTITAS/YAKIMA VALLEYS FOR WEST WINDS BETWEEN 25-35 MPH
WITH GUSTS TO 55 MPH (80-90%). THE FOOTHILLS WILL SEE SUB-
ADVISORY WINDS YET STILL BREEZY WITH WINDS 15-20 MPH WITH GUSTS
TO NEAR 35 MPH (70-90%). WINDS WILL BEGIN TO SETTLE INTO A MORE
DIURNAL PATTERN OVERNIGHT WEDNESDAY.
WITH THE INCREASED WINDS AND PROLONGED DRY CONDITIONS, FIRE
WEATHER CONDITIONS HAVE BECOME ELEVATED ACROSS THE BASIN AS
WELL AS THE KITTITAS VALLEY WITH ISOLATED POCKETS ELSEWHERE.
WITH RHS DROPPING INTO THE TEENS AND THE INCREASED WINDS
EXPECTED TODAY, A RED FLAG WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THE
KITTITAS/YAKIMA VALLEY AS WELL AS THE WA & OR COLUMBIA BASIN FOR
WINDS AND RHS. THE RFW WILL BE VALID FROM 10 AM TODAY (TUESDAY)
THROUGH 11 PM TONIGHT.
AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z THURSDAY/
VFR CONDITIONS ARE FORECAST AT ALL SITES FOR THE NEXT 24 HOURS.
SKIES WILL BE CLEAR TO MOSTLY CLEAR OUTSIDE OF ANY SMOKE PLUMES
FROM ONGOING WILDFIRES IN THE COLUMBIA BASIN. WILDFIRE SMOKE
IS THE ONE WILD CARD THAT COULD PRODUCE SUB-VFR CIGS AND/OR
VSBYS, BUT CONFIDENCE IN SMOKE AFFECTING TAF SITES WAS TOO LOW
(<30 PERCENT) TO INCLUDE ANY MENTION IN THE 06Z TAFS. BREEZY
WINDS THIS EVENING WILL DECREASE IN MAGNITUDE OVERNIGHT, THEN
BECOME LOCALLY BREEZY AGAIN WEDNESDAY.
PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS
PDT 52 84 51 86 / 0 0 0 0
ALW 55 84 56 87 / 0 0 0 0
PSC 55 88 54 90 / 0 0 0 0
YKM 55 89 54 89 / 0 0 0 0
HRI 55 87 54 89 / 0 0 0 0
ELN 51 81 51 86 / 0 0 0 0
RDM 47 86 45 87 / 0 0 0 0
LGD 49 81 48 86 / 0 0 0 0
GCD 48 85 46 90 / 0 0 0 0
DLS 57 85 57 91 / 0 0 0 0
PDT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
WA...RED FLAG WARNING UNTIL 11 PM PDT THIS EVENING FOR WAZ690-691.
RED FLAG WARNING FROM 11 AM TO 9 PM PDT WEDNESDAY FOR WAZ690.
OR...RED FLAG WARNING UNTIL 11 PM PDT THIS EVENING FOR ORZ691.
RED FLAG WARNING FROM 11 AM TO 9 PM PDT WEDNESDAY FOR ORZ700.
UPDATE...71
DISCUSSION...90
AVIATION...86
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