The next two weeks will remain dry across parts of the West. While a weak monsoonal flow will develop across parts of Arizona into Colorado, California into Nevada will stay dry and hot. Temperatures will be near to above normal during that time.

The good news, the outlook for July shows above normal precipitation for the Southwest into the Rockies which will help to keep any wild fires down. That’s not the case into California where the dry weather may lead to an increase in the potential for wild fires. I  don’t expect any Santa Ana winds to develop just the normal summer heat and dry weather.

Temperatures Saturday July 7

The heat will build into the West later next week as the ridge builds west. That means extreme heat in the Deserts into the Central Valley of California. Highs could exceed 110 Degrees F in some areas. The heat will even spread back into the Pacific Northwest after some relief occurs early next week.

Below is the current large fires. Notice that there are a few large fires going on right now across parts of California and Oregon.

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30 Day Forecast

90 Day Forecast

QPF Maps

Large Fires Map

Hurricane Bud could bring welcome rain to the Southwest and Colorado, helping to putting out the fires currently active. As you can see by the active fire map, there are many fires across parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado. Some of the larger fires are occurring across Colorado, directly in the path of the remains of Bud.

Bud is expected to make landfall near on the Baja Peninsula Friday then move north into the Southwest by Sunday morning. On that path, moisture in the form of showers and thunderstorms will move out ahead of Bud Saturday night and should arrive in these areas during that time.  The rainfall will be heavy in some areas and could exceed to 2-3 inches. Most areas as shown on the rainfall map will see a 0.25″ to 1.00″ of rain with the heaviest coming Sunday into Sunday night.

Another way Bud will help fight the fires is to increase the humidity and bring cooler weather. The hot and dry weather has been helping to fuel the fires but the cooler and more humid weather coming will tend to suppress the fires which is all good news.