Eastern Washington: fire weather and blowing dust concerns on Saturday (see below for Western WA)

Other than a few places with Moderate air, conditions are mostly Good in eastern Washington now. A strong, dry cold front is projected to blow through the state on Saturday, causing quite a few concerns as illustrated by the following three graphics produced by the National Weather Service in Spokane.

While all this is unfolding, stronger winds will limit plume rise in existing fires, resulting in some smoke north of I-90 on Saturday. Chelan, Wenatchee and the Spokane area could see Moderate air quality from nearby fires but most other areas should remain Good unless new fires foul up the air.

Saturday's front ushers in a pattern shift toward cooler weather over the next few days, with little risk of strong winds and thunderstorms. This bodes well for firefighting efforts and should keep smoke reasonably well dispersed.