537
FXUS65 KPIH 071738
AFDPIH

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Pocatello ID
1138 AM MDT Fri Aug 7 2026

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Wildfire smoke continues to impact the area on and off for the
  next few days. Expect decreased air quality at times with air
  quality advisories in effect.

- Warming trend has begun with highs approaching 100 degrees in
  the lower elevations Friday through the weekend. A Heat
  Advisory is in effect for the South Hills, Raft River Region,
  and the Franklin/Eastern Oneida Region Friday afternoon
  through late Saturday.

- No precipitation in the forecast for this week, but increasing
  potential for monsoon moisture to return next week.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Issued at 206 AM MDT Fri Aug 7 2026

High pressure directly over Eastern Idaho is keeping us warm even
early this morning, so expect temperatures to be plenty hot once
again this afternoon. Heat Advisory continues for the South Hills
today and tomorrow as highs return to the upper 90s and low 100s.
The NBM shows a 20 to 40 percent chance of highs reaching 100
degrees from Burley to Pocatello with an even higher chance from
Shoshone to Aberdeen. Wind gusts this afternoon continue to be
around 20 to 25 mph across much of the area and wildfire smoke still
filters into Eastern Idaho where we still have some Air Quality
Alerts in place today. This smoke is the main foil to reaching 100
degrees for some of us today. Overnight into Saturday, temperatures
will be slow to fall, and many will start Saturday in the mid to
upper 60s. The rest of Saturday will be nearly identical to Friday.
On Sunday, we will be just a few degrees cooler as our high pressure
ridge gets flattened every so slightly. This happens as troughing
begins to develop over the West Coast as an area of low pressure
sits off the western coast of British Columbia early next week. This
will generally drop temperatures by a couple of degrees each day of
the week with highs in the upper 80s to low 90s by Wednesday and mid
to upper 80s by next Friday. This will allow for some isolated
chances of monsoon moisture to make its way back into the area.

&&

.AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z SATURDAY/...
Issued at 1133 AM MDT Fri Aug 7 2026

Only aviation impact will be if smoke will decrease visibility
at any of the sites. I did not reduce anywhere although SUN is
the most likely to see drop below 6 miles. Skies clear otherwise
through Saturday morning. Winds nothing more than 10 knot
diurnal slope winds at all sites.

&&

.FIRE WEATHER...
Issued at 206 AM MDT Fri Aug 7 2026

High pressure directly over Eastern Idaho today continues our trend
of temperatures heating up, min RHs dropping to critically low
levels, and breezy winds of 15 to 25 mph. Wind gusts each afternoon
will remain very close to critical fire weather conditions around 20
to 25 mph in the Central Mountains, so will continue to evaluate Red
Flag Warning potential for Saturday and Sunday afternoons as these
winds increase slightly. At this point, Sunday looks like it might
be the day to watch for more widespread critical fire weather
conditions. Next week, troughing over the West begins to help our
temperatures cool slightly each day and bring min RHs back into the
15 to 25 percent range unlike the 10-15 percent range we`re sitting
in today and through the weekend.

&&

.AIR QUALITY...
Issued at 1246 PM MDT Thu Aug 6 2026

An Air Quality Advisory is now in effect through Friday afternoon
for Bonneville, Butte, Clark, Custer, Fremont, Jefferson, Madison,
and Teton counties due to air quality being "unhealthy for sensitive
groups." Elsewhere, alerts have been lifted due to improvements to
"moderate" air quality.

&&

.PIH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
Heat Advisory until 11 PM MDT Saturday for IDZ051>055-058-062.
Air Quality Alert until 3 PM MDT this afternoon for IDZ052-053-
062>074.
Heat Advisory until 11 PM MDT Saturday for IDZ056-057-059.

&&

$$

DISCUSSION...AMM
AVIATION...GK
FIRE WEATHER...AMM
AIR QUALITY...Cropp