Numerous dry thunderstorms…hot temperatures…and very low surface humidities have prompted Red Flag Warnings for most of OR, WA, ID, MT, NV, WY, UT, and parts of far N. CA and CO. Quite a few fire starts can be expected in the next 48 hours in these areas, and existing large fires will grow considerably. Plume-dominated fire behavior will be likely for at least the next few days, with extreme fire danger continuing in some areas for the forseeable future. With resources already stretched very thin (some wilderness fires are burning unattended), a fire outbreak further south could be disastrous. If Santa Anna winds develop in S. CA , or a strong offshore pattern develops in N. CA, or a dry lightning outbreak occurs in UT, CO, WY, or MT at any point during the next 3-4 weeks, there could be extremely serious situation. The weather in CA has remained very quiet for the last few weeks, which looks to continue. Several Eastern Pacific hurricanes will probably develop in the next week or so, but flow aloft will probably not be very favorable for moisture advection into the region. This could change with time, but for now the major story in the West (and nationally, for that matter) continues to be the extreme fire weather conditions in the interior.