Fire Weather Outlook Discussion
Issued by NWS
Issued by NWS
010 FNUS28 KWNS 112157 FWDD38 Day 3-8 Fire Weather Outlook NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK 0455 PM CDT Tue Aug 11 2026 Valid 131200Z - 191200Z ...Synopsis... As troughing builds across the western CONUS, high pressure will gradually translate eastward and settle into the Southeast this weekend. As a result, hot, dry, and breezy conditions will promote fire concerns across portions of the southern Plains, and contribute to the drying of fuels into the Lower Mississippi Valley. As monsoonal moisture continues to advect northward, daily chances for thunderstorms are expected throughout the Desert Southwest, Great Basin, and Colorado Rockies. Upper troughing and embedded disturbances over the West should encourage thunderstorms and wetting rain potential across much of the Rocky Mountain chain into the High Plains. ...Days 3-4/Thursday-Friday... ...Northwestern CONUS... Troughing will settle over the western CONUS, encouraging monsoonal moisture to advect northward. Embedded disturbances within southwesterly to southerly flow aloft amid sufficient instability will generate 5-15% probabilities of isolated afternoon thunderstorms across portions of the Northwest. While thunderstorms will be a mix of wet/dry, given a highly sensitive fuelscape, lightning ignitions will remain a concern for the foreseeable future. As such, 10% Dry Thunderstorm probabilities have been adjusted on Day 3/Thursday to overlap areas not likely to receive plentiful rainfall in the coming days. On Day 4/Friday, 10% Dry Thunderstorm probabilities were introduced across the Klamath-Siskiyou region where meteorological conditions support high-based thunderstorms within an area of receptive fuels. Additional probabilities may be needed in future outlook cycles as thunderstorm potential continues across the Pacific Northwest through the weekend. ...Southern High Plains... High pressure will elongate across the Central U.S. into the Southeast on Day 3/Wednesday, expanding northward and eventually centering back over the central/southern Plains late in the forecast period. Hot, dry, and breezy conditions will persist across portions of western Oklahoma, the TX/OK Panhandles, and southwestern Kansas where fuels are growing increasingly receptive. As such, 40% Critical probabilities remain on Days 3-4/Thursday-Friday. ..Elizalde-Garcia.. 08/11/2026 ...Please see www.spc.noaa.gov/fire for graphic product... $$