530
FXUS66 KPDT 050552
AFDPDT
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
1052 PM PDT TUE AUG 4 2026
KEY MESSAGES
- ELEVATED TO LOCALLY CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS THROUGH
THE WEEK DUE TO PERIODS OF LOCALIZED BREEZY CONDITIONS, LOW
RH, AND HOT, DRY, AND UNSTABLE CONDITIONS
- WIDESPREAD SMOKE AND HAZE THROUGH AT LEAST MID-WEEK, LIKELY
(90% CONFIDENCE) PERSISTING THROUGH THURSDAY
- WIDESPREAD MODERATE TO LOCALLY MAJOR HEATRISK MIDDLE TO LATE
WEEK.
DISCUSSION
SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS WIDESPREAD SMOKE AND HAZE ACROSS THE
FORECAST AREA THIS AFTERNOON. WATER VAPOR IMAGERY REVEALS A
WEAK SHORTWAVE TROUGH PASSING THROUGH NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT OVER
THE NORTHERN ROCKIES. MEANWHILE, AN UPPER-LEVEL RIDGE IS
AMPLIFYING OFFSHORE IN THE PACIFIC. THIS PATTERN HAS SET UP A
CLASSIC WEST COAST THERMAL TROUGH (WCTT) TO THE WEST OF THE
CASCADES, LEADING TO AN OFFSHORE-DIRECTED PRESSURE GRADIENT AND
CONTINUED SOUTHWARD AND WESTWARD SMOKE TRANSPORT FROM THE
WILDFIRES TO OUR NORTH IN NORTHERN WASHINGTON AND CANADA.
WILDFIRE SMOKE IS EXPECTED (99 PERCENT CONFIDENCE) TO PERSIST
ACROSS THE REGION THROUGH AT LEAST MID-WEEK AS THE UPPER-LEVEL
RIDGE AMPLIFIES AND SLOWLY TRACKS EASTWARD. WINDS WILL REMAIN
DIURNALLY AND TERRAIN-DRIVEN AND SUPPORTIVE OF CONTINUED
ADVECTION OF SMOKE INTO THE REGION. AIR QUALITY HEADLINES HAVE
BEEN EXPANDED BY AIR QUALITY AGENCIES TO COVER THE ENTIRETY OF
OUR FORECAST AREA, AND ARE IN EFFECT UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.
THE RIDGE AXIS WILL MOVE INLAND WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY, WITH
INCREASINGLY HOT TEMPERATURES FORECAST DURING THE PERIOD.
CURRENTLY, WIDESPREAD MODERATE TO LOCALLY MAJOR HEATRISK IS
FORECAST DUE TO AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES IN THE 95-100 DEGREE
RANGE AND LOWS IN THE 50S AND 60S. THAT SAID, WILDFIRE SMOKE
INHIBITS EFFICIENT SOLAR HEATING SO AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES MAY
END UP BEING SEVERAL DEGREES COOLER THAN CURRENTLY FORECAST IF
SMOKE IS SUFFICIENTLY DENSE; FORECAST HIGHS WERE DECREASED BY
ROUGHLY 2-5 DEGREES FOR THIS AFTERNOON TO ACCOUNT FOR HOW THE
SMOKE AFFECTED TEMPERATURES YESTERDAY. CONVERSELY, THE DRY AIR
MASS (PWATS OF 0.2-0.6") SHOULD FACILITATE EFFICIENT NOCTURNAL
COOLING, AND SMOKE DOES NOT SIGNIFICANTLY AFFECT NOCTURNAL
COOLING.
WHILE 12Z ENSEMBLE NWP GUIDANCE HAS REDUCED THE STRENGTH AND/OR
BACKED OFF ON TIMING RELATIVE TO YESTERDAY'S FORECAST, THE
UPPER-LEVEL PATTERN IS STILL LIKELY TO CHANGE (70 PERCENT
CHANCE) BY LATE WEEK INTO THE WEEKEND TO A QUASI-ZONAL PATTERN
AS ENSEMBLE CLUSTERS INDICATE SOME FLAVOR OF UPPER-LEVEL LOW OR
SHORTWAVE TROUGH WILL LIKELY APPROACH OR MOVE INTO BRITISH
COLUMBIA; ROUGHLY HALF OF ENSEMBLE UNCERTAINTY IN THE 500-HPA
HEIGHT FIELD DURING THIS PERIOD IS DRIVEN BY DIFFERENCES IN THE
MAGNITUDE OF HEIGHTS OVER THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. A TROUGHING
PATTERN, OR PARTIAL BREAKDOWN OF THE UPPER RIDGE, WOULD LEAD TO
A REVERSAL OF SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENTS AND RESULT IN BREEZY TO
WINDY WESTERLY WINDS THROUGH THE CASCADE GAPS AND ACROSS THE
BLUE MOUNTAIN FOOTHILLS AND COLUMBIA BASIN. WIND COUPLED WITH
LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY IN THIS SCENARIO WOULD LEAD TO INCREASING
FIRE WEATHER CONCERNS (SEE FIRE WEATHER SECTION BELOW).
MOREOVER, BREEZY TO WINDY WESTERLY WINDS REPRESENT THE BEST
CHANCE OF SCOURING THE WIDESPREAD SMOKE.
AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z THURSDAY/
LOW END VFR IS THE BEST VISIBILITY CAN BE EXPECTED OVERNIGHT AND
MORE PROBABLY MOST TERMINALS WILL SEE MVFR 3-5 SM AS PREVAILING
TREND DUE TO THE ONGOING SMOKE FROM WILDLAND FIRES. WINDS ARE
ANTICIPATED TO REMAIN LIGHT OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS AND BEYOND
(UNDER 10 KNOTS).
FIRE WEATHER
ELEVATED TO LOCALLY CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE
ANTICIPATED TODAY ACROSS NORTH-CENTRAL OREGON AS LOCALLY BREEZY
EAST TO NORTHEAST WINDS OVERLAP WITH DRY AIR.
WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY, THE COMBINATION OF DRY AIR AND HOT
TEMPERATURES WILL DRIVE AFTERNOON RHS INTO THE SINGLE DIGITS TO
TEENS. PREDOMINANTLY POOR TO FAIR OVERNIGHT RH RECOVERY IS
FORECAST THROUGH THE WEEK, EXCEPT FOR LOCALLY BETTER RECOVERY IN
DRAINAGES. OF NOTE, DEEP MIXING ACROSS THE REGION, ESPECIALLY
CENTRAL OREGON AND VICINITY, MAY SUPPORT PLUME-DOMINATED FIRE.
HAVE HELD OFF ON ISSUING ANY RED FLAG WARNINGS FOR HOT, DRY, AND
UNSTABLE CONDITIONS, BUT WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE NEED.
MOREOVER, HIGH-RESOLUTION WEATHER MODELS (12Z HREF AND 12Z REFS)
INDICATE SOME POTENTIAL (BROADLY 30-70%) IN OVERLAP OF CRITICAL
WIND/RH THRESHOLDS IN CENTRAL AND EAST-CENTRAL OREGON TOMORROW
AND THURSDAY.
LATE WEEK INTO THE WEEKEND, CONFIDENCE IS HIGH (70 PERCENT) IN
A RETURN TO BREEZY WESTERLY WINDS THROUGH THE CASCADE GAPS AND
ACROSS THE COLUMBIA BASIN AS A LOW-PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL LIKELY
(70 PERCENT) APPROACH OR MOVE INTO BRITISH COLUMBIA. CONFIDENCE
IN THE COMBINATION OF CRITICAL WINDS AND RELATIVE HUMIDITY IS
MEDIUM-HIGH CONFIDENCE (40-80 PERCENT) FOR FRIDAY AND SATURDAY.
PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS
PDT 48 93 58 97 / 0 0 0 0
ALW 53 94 63 98 / 0 0 0 0
PSC 55 95 59 100 / 0 0 0 0
YKM 55 94 62 98 / 0 0 0 0
HRI 52 95 60 99 / 0 0 0 0
ELN 53 92 61 96 / 0 0 0 0
RDM 47 96 53 99 / 0 0 0 0
LGD 51 96 58 100 / 0 0 0 0
GCD 51 98 58 101 / 0 0 0 0
DLS 56 97 64 99 / 0 0 0 0
PDT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
WA...AIR QUALITY ALERT UNTIL 5 AM PDT TUESDAY FOR WAZ024-026>030-
521>523.
OR...AIR QUALITY ALERT UNTIL 5 AM PDT TUESDAY FOR ORZ041-044-049-
050-502-503-505>511.
DISCUSSION...86
AVIATION...71
FIRE WEATHER...86
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