SPOKANE, Wash. — A Red Flag Warning will take effect Tuesday afternoon for Spokane and most of central Washington.
The National Weather Service issued the warning for 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Tuesday as wildfire danger moves into the critical stage.
This means that weather conditions are sufficiently dry and windy enough to promote aggressive fire behavior from any new or existing wildfires in central Washington. Gusts of up to 35 mph are in the forecast for most of the Columbia Basin and through eastern Washington out of the west and southwest, with some stronger winds coming off the Cascade slopes.
Relative humidity values could be as low as 10% for central Washington. The combination of dry and windy weather is what's leading to the elevated wildfire risk as these are perfect conditions for wildfires to spread quickly.
Locations included in the Red Flag Warning are nearly all of central Washington and through the Okanogan Valley, and most of eastern Washington including Spokane, the Palouse and the foothills of the Blue Mountains.