A weather system will move through the area on Wednesday, bringing scattered showers and thunderstorms to the region. These thunderstorms will mainly be focused along the eastern slopes of the Cascades and along the International Border. Lightning strikes will have the potential to start new wildfires, and gusty and erratic outflow winds could cause dangerous conditions around new and existing wildfires.
The National Weather Service in Spokane has issued a Red Flag Warning for thunderstorms, which is in effect from 11 AM to 11 PM PDT Wednesday.
* Affected Area: Northern and Central Idaho Panhandle (Zone 101), 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), Selkirk Mountains of Northeast Washington (Zone 700), Foothills of Northeast Washington (Zone 701), Colville Reservation (Zone 702), Okanogan Valley (Zone 703), Methow Valley (Zone 704), Foothills of Central Washington Cascades (Zone 705) and Waterville Plateau (Zone 706).
* Thunderstorms: Scattered showers and thunderstorms will be possible late morning through late evening Wednesday.
* Outflow Winds: Gusty and erratic outflow winds up to 40 mph will be possible.
* Impacts: Lightning strikes will have the potential to start new fires, and gusty and erratic outflow winds could cause dangerous conditions around new and existing wildfires.