Extreme heat in parts of the western U.S. this weekend

Heat is in control of much of the western U.S going into the weekend as wildfires pulse back up in parts of Canada. The third-straight season of huge fires in that country is blowing by more records as the latest round sends more smoke-filled air southward.

Weather Watch

Canada fires. Although the pace of land burned slowed over recent weeks, hundreds of wildfires are out of control across Canada and again sending large plumes of smoke toward the northern U.S. Recent days have witnessed activity flaring in Manitoba and Saskatchewan in particular, which means more bad air into the Upper Midwest — unhealthy air is forecast in the Dakotas and Minnesota Friday. Close to 70 million acres have burned in Canada over the past three years, by far the most in a three-year period there per modern records, and about 7 percent of all forest in the country.

Weekend heat. A heat dome is in control over the southwest U.S., and it will flex into the Pacific Northwest over the weekend. Extreme heat warnings are up for parts of northern California and southern Oregon with heat advisories more numerous across the broader region. Death Valley may run at the hottest temperature of the year again in coming days, after reaching that mark with 123 on Wednesday.

Lightning links

Flash flooding crippled Thursday morning commute in Boston. (Matthew Medsger and Joe Dwinell, The Boston Herald)

Most victims of Texas flooding did not have flood insurance. (Chris Isidore, CNN)

Summer Nights Are Warming, Here's Why. (The Weather Channel)

Summer, in one map

In many places, summer is the season of both heat and downpours. Those are the main weather threats on the map for next week at this point.

Areas in Texas recovering from the historic flooding will be in between high heat and heavy rain risks, meaning they might see a bit of both, but hopefully not the extreme of either. Residents of Ruidoso in New Mexico may have to remain on alert as more opportunities for heavy rain emerge.

And it’s the hottest stuff of the season so far for parts of the west, a continuation of what has been seen in recent days. Phoenix had a low of only 95 on Thursday, one of its hottest on record!

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Weekday morning newsletter by a journalist/forecaster. Connecting weather and climate change dots while occasionally stirring the pot.

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