Will incoming Oregon rain be enough to quell roaring wildfires?
Two weather systems of rainfall are expected to hit western Oregon this week, potentially bringing a slowdown to a busy wildfire season.
Moisture is forecast to arrive Tuesday and again on Thursday, said meteorologists at the National Weather Service in Portland and Medford.
“Overall, it’s looking very favorable for a decent amount of precipitation,” said David Bishop, a meteorologist with NWS Portland. “It won’t necessarily put the kibosh on every fire that’s currently active, but it should put down some of the smaller ones and improve conditions on the bigger ones.”
The system arriving Tuesday is the lighter of the two, with 0.1 to 0.2 of an inch possible, with more likely in the mountains. Northwest Oregon should get at least some rain, while southwest Oregon is unlikely to see as much.
🙋♀️ Who is ready for some rain? A weather system is forecast to bring chances of rain showers to much of NW OR & SW WA tomorrow - Wednesday. There's also a 15-35% chance of thunderstorms across the region Monday afternoon - Tuesday. #ORwx #WAwx pic.twitter.com/OtWYh35JzJ
— NWS Portland (@NWSPortland) August 28, 2023
The big question centers on Thursday’s storm, which is forecast to be heavier and could bring a quarter to a half inch of rain, said Bishop.
“I’m not saying it’s going to happen, but the Thursday system could overperform and really bring a lot of help,” Bishop said.
Bishop said he understood the skepticism, given how dry Oregon has been.
“We’re getting a really good sign of a pattern change already with that cool marine layer spreading across the area. That’s a good sign this one is going to hold up.”
In southwest Oregon, Chandler Price, with NWS Medford, said they were optimistic the Thursday system would bring at least a few tenths of an inch and up to a quarter to a half inch of rain in the mountains.
“I wouldn’t call this a fire-season ending event,” Price said. “It should be beneficial, helping clear out smoke and slowing down the fires, but I don’t see it bringing an end to fire season.”
Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter in Oregon for 15 years and is host of the Explore Oregon Podcast. To support his work, subscribe to the Statesman Journal. Urness is the author of “Best Hikes with Kids: Oregon” and “Hiking Southern Oregon.” He can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on Twitter at @ZachsORoutdoors.
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Oregon wildfires: Will rain be enough to quell roaring fires?
