Ingalls Weather<p><strong>High fire danger for Lower Columbia Basin and Yakima Valley on Tuesday</strong></p><p>Hot temperatures continue for the Inland Northwest on Tuesday with the upper level ridge dominating conditions moving slowly eastward. As the ridge moves on, breezy winds are forecast to develop in the Columbia Basin and Yakima Valley this afternoon.</p><p>Westerly winds won’t be particularly strong, gusting only to about 30 mph (50 km/h), but with highs reaching above 100°F (38°C) and relative humidity below 20% wildfires will be easy to start and quick to spread.</p><blockquote><p><em>Ingalls Weather thanks the support it gets from donors. Please consider making a small donation </em><a href="https://ingallswx.com/donate/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">at this link</a><em> to help me pay for the website and access to premium weather data.</em></p></blockquote><p>These conditions have prompted the National Weather Service in Pendleton to issue a Red Flag Warning until 20:00 Tuesday. The alert includes the Tri-Cities, Yakima, and Ellensburg. The National Weather Service office in Spokane issued a similar alert for Wenatchee. Hermiston and Pendleton are excluded from the alerts but caution should still be exercised in those areas.</p><p>While Wednesday is forecast to be cooler, it will still be hot. Westerly flow over the Pacific Northwest will bring in some downsloping off the Cascades. Downsloping winds dry as they descend, leading to another day of elevated fire danger in the Yakima Valley and Columbia Basin.</p> <p>Type your email…</p><p>Subscribe</p> <p>Be fire smart by limiting outdoor burning, not throwing cigarette butts out of vehicles, and not parking in tall grass. Ensure that your lawn is cleared of flammable debris. In the Eastern Washington desert, just about anything can start a fire in the dry grasses. A few years ago sparks from tow chains started a fire that burned Rattlesnake Mountain, for example.</p><p>Also make sure that you have a go bag prepared in case you need to make a hasty exit. This should include water, food, entertainment for children, some cash, medicine, and important documents.</p><p>The vast majority of people won’t need to evacuate but preparation ahead of time makes the process faster if you are threatened. In 2018, a wildfire south of Kennewick ended up burning 5000 acres (2000 ha) and destroyed five homes.</p><p>Temperatures continue to cool as the week progresses with highs in the Tri-Cities moderating toward the mid-80s (28°C) by Friday. Some light rain is possible in and west of the Cascades thanks to a weak cold front on Thursday. That may bring some more wind to Eastern Washington but won’t be strong enough for decent rainfall.</p><p><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://ingallswx.com/tag/tricities/" target="_blank">#TriCities</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://ingallswx.com/tag/wawx/" target="_blank">#wawx</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://ingallswx.com/tag/weather/" target="_blank">#Weather</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://ingallswx.com/tag/yakima/" target="_blank">#Yakima</a></p>