Saturday 11:00am: Shower / Thunderstorm chances increase overnight, 2:00am-10:00am Sunday (best chances 4am-8am). Chances are small, but don't be surprised if you hear thunder or get a brief shower. Cooler tomorrow (Sunday) through Friday, with a stretch of much cooler temps. Highs will be around the mid 80's, as opposed to the 90-100° that has been more common than not since July 4th. Normal high/low is 84/51.
FIRE INFO: A "FIRE WEATHER WATCH" is in effect across the area. This DOESN'T MEAN that there will be more fires! Instead, it's a "heads up" that IF thunderstorms occur, lightning-ignited fires are possible due to how dry the grasses/trees/etc are. However, if a thunderstorm does occur and lightning does start a fire, enough rain may fall from the t-storm to put it out. There is NO NEED TO PANIC; everything is NOT going to burn down! The regional fires that are currently burning DO NOT pose a threat to Cottage Grove at this time. Be mindful that shifting winds could blow in some smoke at times. "Current Fire Maps" can be found under the "Fire Danger" tab at https://grovewx.com/
You've probably noticed the clouds and an icky feeling outside. A low pressure system is currently creating instability across the entire region. This will give us increased chances for showers and thunderstorms to about midnight. So don't be surprised if you hear some thunder or get a shower. Also keep your fingers crossed that no lightning ignited fires occur. Dry weather returns tomorrow (Wednesday) and will then continue into next week. High temps through the weekend will vary mostly between the upper 80's and low 90's. It's been one heck of a hot summer so far!
Happy Friday! We hit 100-104 last Saturday through Tuesday. Although relatively cooler, it will continue to be warm/hot with above normal temperatures through Thursday of next week (see chart below). Next Friday might be a little cooler than currently predicted (highs 80's?), but then high temps may warm to around 90 for the following weekend (Sat/Sun July 20-21). No rain in sight (it's our driest month anyway) and no signs of a significant cool down through at least July 26 (at this time).
FIRE INFO: Fire Danger Rating is at HIGH. Currently, there's no major fires burning across our local region. The largest fire in Oregon so far this year is the Cow Valley Fire in far eastern Oregon, at 83,000 acres, and is rapidly spreading. The Larch Creek Fire east of Mt. Hood is now at just over 10,000 acres and the Salt Creek Fire, just east of Medford, is at 3815 acres. None of these fires pose any risk to our local area.
Sunday July 7: No kidding it's HOT! Check out the pictures below - can you relate? If it makes you feel better, Las Vegas is already at 115° today (1pm) and didn't fall below 87 all night! OUR HIGH TEMPS around 98-103° through Tuesday, then some cooling on Wednesday (highs low 90's). Thursday through next weekend and into the following week, high temps look to be 86-92° (at this time). Lows 53-58 through Tuesday, then 50-54. Our normal high is 81°; normal low is 50°. Fire danger remains at high.
I hope that you all had a safe and relaxing Independence Day yesterday! I worked 5am-3pm doing fire dept stuff then came home and took a long nap. High temps 99-105° today through Monday (may extend into Tuesday), then some cooling Wednesday and Thursday of next week (but temps still above normal). Our normal high temp is 81° (see chart below). Fire danger is at HIGH due to the heat quickly drying out "fuels" for fire. To show you how fast things are drying out from the heatwave, I've attached the Significant Fire Potential for this past Wednesday (July 3) and what's predicted for Tuesday of next week (July 9). No need to panic, so take a deep breath... Just showing these charts to give you information.
Tuesday July 2: HEATWAVE! Starting tomorrow (July 3), a heatwave will kick in and stay with us for at least the next 6-7 days. Heatwave peaks Friday-Sunday and high temps will be 20-25° (100-105°) above the 80° normal! At this time, slight and gradual cooling is expected to begin on Monday and continue through the end of next week (although highs at the end of next week are still expected to be 10° above normal). Please see the charts below which show how quickly heat inside a car can become deadly and how the asphalt gets which in turn becomes a medical emergency for burned paws.
FIRE DANGER RATING is currently low here but will likely change to moderate (or higher) very soon due to things quickly drying out from the heat and winds. This rating currently varies between low and moderate across our local region. However, east of the Cascades and south of Douglas County (around Grants Pass / Medford) the fire danger rating is at HIGH.
It's Thursday! Nice & dry through at least the end of next week! Afternoons will be very warm starting July 4th as high pressure in the Pacific becomes strong and extends eastward into the west coast. Temps will probably then cool a little around July 7. No rain to speak of, which is typical for this time of year. Local Fire Danger Rating is currently "low," but don't be surprised if it changes to "moderate" around July 2 or 3. At this time there are no major out of control fires burning in Oregon, so all is good as we speak. Keep your fingers crossed!
Warm/hot through Saturday (highs 85-90) then a cool down begins on Sunday. Highs fluctuating between the low 70's and low 80's are expected Sunday through all of next week and probably out to July 6. At this time, a heat wave is not seen through at least July 6; high temperatures on July 4 are expected to be mild (in the 70's?) per current data and what I see right now (preliminary).
YOU are AMAZING and AWESOME! Dry with a warming trend and above normal high temperatures through Saturday. A cool down on Sunday will bring high/low temperatures to within 2-3° of normal and this should then continue through all of next week. At this time, I don't see any rain through July 4th.
FIRE DANGER: The fire danger is expected to remain low through at least around July 1. Current outlooks of the Significant Wildland Fire Outlook Models suggest that there WILL NOT be an above normal fire danger for much of Oregon throughout summer. This doesn't mean that there won't be fires, but instead indicates that the potential isn't above what we typically see. Many factors are taken into account with these outlooks, including the drought situation and dead fuel moisture (grasses and leaves / pine needles / dead trees / branches on ground, etc).
Happy Friday! Dry and nice today with increasing clouds. Two very weak storm systems will clip our neck of the woods Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Changes to the forecast for Saturday now include isolated light showers 4am-sunset (Saturday). As previously forecast, Sunday will have isolated light showers after around 2:00pm and until midnight. Monday is a coin toss right now as to whether there's enough energy to allow for continued isolated showers. In any case, nothing drastic and any rainfall will be extremely light at less than 1/10" total Sat-Mon. No wind concerns, snow levels 4500-6000'.
Dry with a warming trend Tuesday through the end of next week and into the following weekend. High temps in the 80's starting Wednesday.
