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.

* Affected Area: Foothills of Northeast Washington (Zone 701) and Eastern Columbia Basin -Palouse -Spokane Area (Zone 708).

* Winds: Southwest 10 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph.

* Relative Humidities: 17 to 25 percent.

* Thunderstorms: Isolated to scattered lightning will occur in two rounds. The first one will occur between 2 PM and 5 PM with the second round between 10 PM and 5 AM. Gusty outflow winds are expected near thunderstorms.

* Outflow Winds: Gusty outflow wind gusts up to 50 mph.

* Impacts: Rapid fire spread is possible with any new or ongoing fires. Lightning strikes will have the potential to start new fires with gusty outflow winds.