Lightning storms that lit up Eastern Washington Tuesday could cause trouble across our state a few days from now.
When lightning touches down in a dry area, it can smolder in the ground for days, sparking into brush fires if conditions (high wind, low humidity) are just right.
North, Central and Southeast Washington is already somewhat dried out from last weekend's temperatures hitting right around 100 degrees.
There are also a handful of active wildfires in Washington now, near Chelan and Mansfield.
Storms like today's are prevalent east of Cascades all summer, but this might be one of the first this year. Just using Stehekin as an example (remote and notorious for wildfires), the forecast calls for temperatures in the 90s the rest of the week with a chance of thunderstorms almost every day -- not great for the fire outlook.
Thunder cells continue to move west over the Cascades, and lighting is still getting picked up on our lightning strike map around Omak, Tonasket and Colville. At least one strike was reported over Lake Washington.
A red flag warning that extended into the Blue Mountains has been canceled, despite what the National Weather Service called "abundant lighting across fire weather zones."
If you're looking for a good fire resource on Twitter, follow @waDNR_fire. They recently posted a list of 8 things you can do to prevent fire danger around your home.
You can also download the Seattle Weather app for your mobile phone to get Doppler maps and satellite radars anytime:
- iPhone
- Droid (link works on Droid phones only)
- BlackBerry
- Windows
If you see smoke, report it to the Washington Department of Natural Resources at 1-800-562-6010.
