Weather and climate scientist focused on extreme events like floods, droughts, & wildfires on a warming planet. www.weatherwest.com
Daniel Swain
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As earlier noted, a significant West Coast heatwave will build in the coming days, persisting at least 7-10 days. A strong & at least somewhat persistent ridge will bring war-to-hot conditions West Coast wide. Heat will be most anomalous in PacNW, but will also be present in CA.
For those asking: I am indeed working on a special Weather West update focused solely on potential for a historically significant El Niño event in 2026 & regional-to-global scale implications. Given the depth & breath, it's taking longer than usual...so thanks for your patience!
3,000 words and counting... 👀
During this period, elevated daytime & nighttime temperatures can be expected along entire West Coast except possibly for immediate NorCal coastline where are experiencing temporary reprieve from broader marine heatwave affecting NE Pacific Ocean. SoCal waters remain very warm.
Elevated fire weather conditions are likely across much of West due to building heat, dry airmass, & occasionally windy conditions as low pressure systems slide down east side of ridge. Highest risk in interior major drought areas, but even CA will see higher risk in coming days.
*warm-to-hot, of course!
I would expect fire season across the interior West to kick into high gear quite soon, with at least 6 consecutive upcoming days or critical or near-critical fire weather (a mix of hot, dry, windy, plus some dry lightning) aligning with widespread severe to extreme drought.
Our oceans are extremely warm compared to the historical record. One of those areas of record high temperatures last month was across the North Pacific.
Graph shows the average for a band across the midlatitudes for every May from 1854-2026 using
NOAA ERSSTv5 data (psl.noaa.gov/data/gridded...). 🌊
