As the pre-greenup spring burn season winds down in much of the United States, there are still lingering areas of concern in the Mid-Atlantic, upper Midwest and parts of the East Coast to Florida. Rain coming to the latter may help alleviate that threat further.
In a new report issued last week, the National Interagency Coordination Center is expecting the southern Plains and a large chunk of the western Lower 48 to be at above average risk June through August.
Summer is when wildfire incidents can really ramp up in the west, and it unfortunately seems like much the region may be primed burn.
โExtended periods of critically low fuel moisture are expected away from the coastal influences June through August,โ the report warned regarding California. โThe low fuel moisture is likely to coincide with a healthy mix of heat waves, dry wind events, and moderate amounts of lightning.โ
It also noted likelihood of a summertime flash drought. Parts of the area have seen three winters in a row of near or above average precipitation, leaving plentiful new potential ground fuels.
Further south in California, places reeling from historic blazes in January saw some rain since, but the winter ended up drier than normal in a big chunk of the Southland, raising the risk of new fires ahead.
The 50th state โ Hawaii โ may also come under heightened wildfire threat July and August.
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