June is shaping up much like it did back in the Summer of 1988, with hot, dry, and windy weather rapidly escalating the fire danger. Big, rapidly growing fires this season already in Colorado, Utah, and Southwestern Wyoming should be all the reminder we need to be extra careful this Fourth of July Week. (See link to big fire map below). You can follow the progress of this fire season and these big fires by clicking on this link to:
The U.S. Forest Service’s Active Fire Page
The U.S. Forest Service’s Active Fire Page
Jackson Hole has been spared so far, with no thunderstorms this past week to spark any fires. We’ve been sitting under a dry & stable Southwesterly flow. But the weather not too far to the south of us over eastern Utah & western Colorado has had a few thunderstorms as a relatively narrow tongue of moisture in the upper levels of the atmosphere has extended from Arizona, northward to parts of southern Wyoming.
Upper Level Map at 500mb (@18,000-ft.
To the West of us, the Pacific Northwest has seen some very cool & wet weather as a series of Low pressure systems has hung along the Coast and then taken a track inland that keep the precipitation to the North & West of Wyoming.
Some indication that the weather pattern may change by the middle or end of next week, with what looks like some monsoon moisture creeping up from the South, which would likely bring us some thunderstorms.
Posted by meteorologist Jim Woodmencey
Map images from USFS & UCAR