Weather forecasters are warning Inland Northwest residents they may see lightning again tonight [Monday].
Ron Miller from the National Weather Service says the agency has issued a "Red Flag" warning for the Spokane area and northern Columbia Basin. He says that’s a message to firefighting agencies, warning they may see some activity tonight.
“It’s going to be a very similar event to what we saw in the Spokane area on Friday evening, the difference being it’s going to be later. It’ll be after midnight before the lightning gets to Spokane, most likely, and there’s a good chance we’ll see more lightning than what we saw with Friday evening’s storms,” Miller said.
He says the danger is that the lightning won’t necessarily be accompanied by precipitation to dampen the trees and brush that could potentially be ignited.
“There will be a little bit of rain with these storms, but we’re not expecting widespread rains," Miller said. "Maybe the best chance of rain is in a real small area under a rain shaft, but the majority of the area will not see widespread wetting rains.”
Miller says the coolest day of the week will be Tuesday. Then, temperatures will warm to the upper 80s and lower 90s through Friday. Cooler, drier air — with no lightning — will move through the region Friday night and into the weekend.