Weather alerts, warnings should be gone by noon Monday
By Terry Murry on Saturday, August 14th, 2021 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
PENDLETON – The region is under an excessive heat watch and an air quality alert. That will begin to change Sunday, but because of the winds expected, it means a red flag warning will be in effect. Here’s the breakdown:
Excessive heat warning: Temperatures ranging from 100 to 110 degrees are anticipated through most of Sunday throughout the region. The warning will expire at 8 p.m. Sunday. The area impacted includes the cities of Boardman, Hermiston, Ione, Pendleton, Pilot Rock, Heppner, Condon, Tri-Cities, Dayton, Waitsburg and Walla Walla.
Air quality alert: Umatilla, Morrow, Union, Wallowa, Wasco, Wheeler, Gilliam, Grant, Jefferson, and Sherman counties are included in t he air quality alert. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality says the alert will expire at noon Monday. Wildfires burning throughout the region combined with light winds and poor mixing conditions are creating the smoky conditions.
Red Flag warning: A red flag warning, meaning heightened fire danger, has been issued for the lower Columbia Basin of Oregon and the eastern Columbia River Gorge Sunday from 1 p.m. to 11 p.m. Breezy to gusty westerly winds will develop as a weather system approaches. Combined with low humidity in the afternoon and evening, those winds will elevate fire weather conditions to critical. Sustained winds will range between 15 and 25 miles per hour, with gusts up to 35 mph.
On Monday, the skies should clear, and the daytime highs will be in the low 90s. High temperatures in the upper 70s to lower 80s are forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday.
