Red Flag Warning

...THUNDERSTORMS, GUSTY WINDS, AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY SATURDAY INTO SUNDAY...

.A strong cold front will move through the region Saturday into Sunday, bringing a risk for thunderstorms and strong west to southwest winds. This will lead to critical fire weather conditions across the region.

The National Weather Service in Spokane has issued a Red Flag Warning for thunderstorms, which is in effect from 11 AM Saturday to 8 AM PDT Sunday. The Fire Weather Watch is no longer in effect.

* Affected Area: East Washington Central Cascades (Zone 696), East Portion of North Cascades National Park/Lake Chelan National Recreation Area (Zone 697), East Washington North Cascades (Zone 698), Okanogan Highlands and Kettle Mountains (Zone 699) and Methow Valley (Zone 704).

* Thunderstorms: Scattered showers and thunderstorms Saturday through Sunday morning.

* Outflow Winds: Gusty outflow winds up to 40 mph.

* Impacts: Lightning strikes will have the potential to start new fires, and gusty and erratic outflow winds could cause rapid spread of new and existing wildfires.