It’s going to be a hot one.

Temperatures for the coming week are forecast to be near 100 degrees in Northwest Wyoming. 

Combine the heat with occasional thunderstorms and winds as high as 30 miles per hour, and you get a chance of wildland fires, said Brett McDonald, a meteorologist out of Riverton with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

“It’s definitely shaping up to be a tough week. There will be periods where temperatures will be above normal by 8-10 degrees for the next week,” he said in a Tuesday interview.

Today (Thursday) and Friday are the best chances for thunderstorms in the area — the type of storms that can lead to gusty winds, “so people need to be careful with fires,” he said.

June was below normal for precipitation in both Cody and Powell. Cody received .54-inches of precipitation during June. Normal precipitation is 1.62-inches. Powell received .83-inches of precipitation in June. Normally it gets about 1.33-inches. 

While it is about a half inch less than normal, McDonald said it is still “not bad in my mind.”

“But it has been drying out since then,” he added.

It could be worse. Last summer was much warmer than this year has been so far. June of 2021 was very hot, hitting 100 degrees for the first time in nine years for many communities. Greybull hit 108 degrees that month as a heat wave sat on the entire western portion of the U.S. early in the season.

In 2021, there were 58,733 wildland fires recorded and 7,139,713 acres burned. Despite the heat, it was slightly below average in the past 20 years of record keeping. 

When a fire breaks out, the NOAA has the capability of sending meteorologists to the incident to make site specific forecasts that can be lifesaving.

“We have a good relationship with land management agencies. When agencies are fighting fires, they can call and get site specific forecasts or meteorologists trained to go on site for weather support,” McDonald said. “Weather plays an integral part in fire behavior and the safety of individuals fighting the fires.”

Saturday and Sunday look to be the hottest days in the coming week with temperatures predicted to be near 100 degrees. 

The record high temperature in Powell for July 14 was 104 degrees in 2002.

McDonald, who has been with NOAA for 20 years, cautions those planning to spend an extended time outdoors to pay attention to the forecast, take advantage of cooler times of the day and stay hydrated. 

“We try our best to provide accurate information. Please plan ahead,” he said.