Scattered severe thunderstorms are forecast across central and eastern North Dakota, as well as far northwest Minnesota Saturday (Slight Risk level 2 of 5). Damaging wind gusts are the primary threat. Elevated to critical fire weather conditions will persist through the weekend across the Western U.S. Isolated dry thunderstorms could lead to new fire starts over portions of the northern Rockies. Read More >
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The Yarnell Fire burned in hilly terrain adjacent to the town of Yarnell, AZ (located south of Prescott, AZ). This event, caused by an lightning strike, lasted from June 28 - July 10, 2013 and burned over eight thousand acres of mountaineous terrain. Due to the high impacts caused by the fire, the event eventually gained a lot of attention by the local and national media and governments.
The location of the Yarnell Fire experienced less than average total precipitation during the 2012-2013 water year. The lack of precipitation, along with seasonally dry conditions in June, led to extremely dry vegetation. As a result, combustion easily began after the lightning struck a patch of vegetation. The rapid growth conditions were likely aided by strong and erratic winds created by thunderstorm outflow.
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