Strong thunderstorms will cross into southern Asotin and Nez Perce counties at 230 PM PDT and continue to the northeast at 20 knots bringing small hail and wind gusts to 45 mph. This storms will moving toward Waha...Craigmont...Winchester...and Reubens. Residents in these locations should prepare for strong thunderstorms to move into the area around 300 PM PDT. Wind gusts to 45 mph and small hail are possible with these storms however the environment is very unstable and these storms may increase in intensity within the next hour.
Forecast for Lower Garfield and Asotin Counties
Updated: 10:11 am PDT on July 5, 2009
Rest of Today
Partly sunny with isolated showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 80s to upper 90s. Chance of precipitation 20 percent.
Mostly cloudy. A chance of showers and thunderstorms in the evening...then a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms overnight. Lows in the upper 50s to mid 60s. Chance of precipitation 40 percent.
Monday
Partly sunny with a 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Not as warm. Highs in the mid 70s to lower 80s. West wind 5 to 15 mph with gusts to around 25 mph in the afternoon.
Partly cloudy. A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms in the evening...then a slight chance of rain showers overnight. Lows in the upper 40s to mid 50s. West wind 5 to 15 mph with gusts to around 25 mph in the evening...becoming light overnight. Chance of precipitation 20 percent.
Tuesday
Mostly sunny. A slight chance of rain showers in the morning...then a chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon. Highs in the mid 70s to mid 80s. Chance of precipitation 20 percent.
... Red flag warning in effect from 1 PM this afternoon to 11 am PDT Monday for a combination of winds and low humidities this afternoon followed by thunderstorms producing abundant lightning tonight...
The National Weather Service in Pendleton has issued a red flag warning... which is in effect from 1 PM this afternoon to 11 am PDT Monday. The Fire Weather Watch is no longer in effect.
A cold front will cross the Oregon Cascades this evening and continue moving northeast across the lower Columbia Basin through the overnight hours into Monday morning. Winds ahead of the front will increase this afternoon and evening to around 10 to 20 mph. The winds in combination with relative humidities ranging from 8 to 15 percent will result in critical fire weather conditions.
Scattered thunderstorms will develop tonight with periods of enhanced lightning activity across the lower elevation Grasslands. Rainfall amounts are expected to be relatively light.
Precautionary/preparedness actions...
A red flag warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now... or will shortly. A combination of strong winds and low relative humidity will create explosive fire growth potential. For additional weather information... check our web site at www.Weather.Gov/Pendleton.