Overnight Smoke Forecast for Central WA

North Central Washington
The Diamond Creek fire will place a moderate amount of smoke into the Okanogan River valley, but that should not last long as the continued northwest winds should provide some level of relief from poor air quality all the way through Friday am.  The forecast after Friday looks good for Okanogan County and points east, as the heat should help the smoke plume to rise out of valleys.
Central Washington:
A wind shift is upon us (high winds 15+ mph forecasted out of the NW) – which will bring smoke from the Norse Peak Fire and Jolly Mountain Fire to the communities downwind tonight and continue to do so into Friday. Good news/ bad news - Lots of mixing forecasted, with the strong wind and high day time temperatures: The winds should relieve smoke in most areas except for the downwind communities of Cle Elum, Ellensburg, Yakima (both upper and lower valley) Naches, Tieton, and Southern Columbia Basin including Tri-Cities… and onward to Walla Walla.  Hopefully the Upper Columbia Basin communities (Moses Lake, Ephrata) and Eastern Washington will have a decent break from the smoke through the work week…

Communities in the lower Columbia Gorge ( White Salmon, Bingen, Lyle, Dallesport ) should get relief from the smoke coming from central Oregon, as northwest winds are forecasted throughout the work week will keep the Columbia Gorge somewhat smoke free until southerly wind returns sometime late this weekend.

Winds are forecasted region wide to be 15 mph steady, gusting into the 25mph range and increasing mid-day on Wednesday. The winds return again all day Thursday and into Friday. NOTE- The strong winds and increasing heat mean more emissions from rapid fire spread so please stay aware of changing conditions.