Heat and Fire Weather Concerns in the West

Heat will build over the Intermountain West and the Southwest the next couple of days. Lightning from dry thunderstorms can create new fire starts and combined with gusty winds may cause a fire to rapidly grow in Oregon and northern California. Elevated fire weather conditions are also expected in the Great Basin. Flash flooding will be possible in Arizona and west Texas, especially in burn scars. Read More >

It was a very warm and dry year in 2021, and the numbers don’t come as a surprise with the severe to exceptional drought conditions that we saw especially during the summer. Temperatures rank within the top 10 warmest of all time for 3 of 5 climate sites, following after the warmest summers on record at Brainerd and Duluth. Precipitation was below average everywhere, with generally about 5” less than normal precipitation at most places. Snowfall was also well below average at Duluth and International Falls.