Possible record-breaking temperatures Sunday, Monday

MOSES LAKE — It’s going to get hot out there – but not a hot spell, really. More of a hot flash.

A strong ridge of high pressure should push temperatures well above normal for early June, especially Sunday and Monday. Temperatures are projected to be 93 to 95 degrees Saturday, ramping up to 98 to 101 degrees Sunday and Monday, before dropping back down to the mid-80s by Wednesday.

“About 20 degrees above normal,” said Jeremy Wolf, forecaster with the National Weather Service in Spokane. It could be record-setting heat, because records for this time of year are in the mid-90s, he said. “Brief periods where temperatures really warm up” are relatively common in June.

Hot spells (or hot flashes) this time of year can result in flooding, since there is, or there should be, snow at higher elevations. But a lot of that snow melted during the above-average temperatures in April and May, Wolf said. While the volume of water is projected to increase in local rivers and streams, they should stay below flood stage.

As for the rest of the summer, "there’s not a really clear signal on how summer is going to pan out.” There is an 80 to 85 percent chance that temperatures will be above normal this summer, Wolf said.

Warm spring temperatures and a lot of spring rain mean there are lots of weeds out there. And because of those warm spring temperatures, all those weeds are already getting dry, said Dan Smith, chief for Grant County Fire District No. 5.

Temperatures were lower during Memorial Day weekend, but two separate fires near Sunland and Wilson Creek “both took off like gangbusters,” said Jack Zeilenga of Fire District No. 5. The good news, Smith said, is that light winds are forecast for the coming weekend.

Conditions are dry enough that people should start taking precautions when they’re outdoors, the firefighters said. There’s no county-wide burn ban yet. But weeds are “ready to burn right now, right today. We had a very good crop of cheatgrass this year,” Zeilenga said.

The fire that started Sunday near Sunland was “a failed attempt at cooking lunch,” Smith said. So it’s grilling-campfire season – but it’s also make-sure-the-grill-or-campfire-is-out season. In the case of the Sunland fire, “they didn’t get the fire out all the way,” Smith said.

People should make sure all weeds and dead vegetation are cleared from around buildings, up to a distance of about 10 feet, Zeilenga said. And “you’d be amazed how many fires we go to that are started by lawnmowers hitting rocks.”

Information on setting up defensible space is available on the Firewise website, which is sponsored by the National Fire Protection Association.