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NWS Forecasts Dangerous Heat in Desert Southwest, Intermountain West; Storms in Central, Eastern US

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The US National Weather Service said it expects the Desert Southwest and Intermountain West regions to experience dangerous heat, which will intensify further.

Elevated wildfire conditions are likely in the northern Intermountain West due to the presence of hot, dry weather and increasing winds. The region is expected to face persistent air quality issues due to ongoing fires.

Meanwhile, scattered showers and storms are forecast for central and eastern US through the end of the week.

The NWS early Friday issued a red flag warning for Montana's Thompson Falls, Poison, Missoula, Hamilton, Drummond, Sula, Butte, Anaconda, Helena, Great Falls, Bozeman, Dillion, Stanford, and Boulder. These places are primarily served by Northwestern Energy (NWE).

A similar warning was raised for Idaho's Orofino, Pierce, Grangeville, Riggins, Lewiston, which primarily fall under the service area of Idacorp's (IDA) Idaho Power; and Oregon's Maupin, The Dalles, Condon, Fossil, Hermiston, and Pendleton, served by PacifiCorp's Pacific Power.

Affected areas in Washington include Goldendale, Wenatchee, Ellensburg, Moses Lake, Yakima, Connell, Sunnyside, Pasco, and Walla Walla. Pacific Power, Avista (AVA) unit Avista Utilities and Puget Sound Energy are among the primary electricity service providers in the state.

Also covered under a red flag warning watch were Wyoming's Muddly Gap, Shirley Basin, Rawlins, Garret, Medicine Bow, Elk Mountain, Saratoga, and Centennial; and Colorado's Canon City and Pueblo.

Wyoming mostly falls under the service area of PacifiCorp's Rocky Mountain Power, while Xcel Energy (XEL) and Black Hills (BKH) unit Black Hills Energy are the primary electricity service providers in Colorado.

The NWS issued an extreme heat warning for Utah's Delta, Nephi, Wendover, Tooele, Ogden, Salt Lake City, Capitol Reef National Price, Green River, Price, St George, Bryce Canyon National Park, Zion National Park, Escalante, and areas near Bluff. Rocky Mountain Power is the primary service provider in the state.

A similar warning was also raised for Nevada's Wells, Tonopah, Beatty, Las Vegas, Caliente, Austin, Fallon, Lovelock, Germach, McDermitt, Carson City, Reno, Denio, Elko, Wells, Battle Mountain, Eureka, and Winnemucca. Nevada primarily falls under the service area of Berkshire Hathaway Energy unit NV Energy.

Affected areas in Arizona include Parker, Kingman, Lake Havasu City, Yuma, Bullhead City, Gila Bend, Phoenix, Wickenburg, Dateland, Casa Grande, Page, and Grand Canyon Village. These places are primarily served by Pinnacle West Capital (PNW) unit Arizona Public Service Company, and UNS Energy subsidiary Unisource.

In California, an extreme heat warning was issued for Blythe, El Centro Imperial, Palm Springs, Palmdale, Twentynine Palms, Barstow, Baker, Death Valley, Bishop, Tehachapi, Mount Laguna, Julian, Borrego Springs, Beaumont, Indio, Victorville, Ridgecrest, Edwards AFB, Frazier Park, and parts of Santa Barbara and Santa Maria.

Pacific Power, PG&E (PCG) subsidiary Pacific Gas and Electric, Edison International's (EIX) Southern California Edison, and Sempra Energy (SRE) unit San Diego Gas & Electric are the major electricity service providers in these places.

The NWS issued a flood warning for Missouri's Boonville and nearby areas, which fall under the service area of Ameren's (AEE) Missouri unit; and George West in Texas, served by American Electric Power's (AEP) Texas unit.

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