- National Weather Service aids Utah firefighters with weather monitoring amid ongoing fires.
- Meteorologist Monica Traphagan warns of dry conditions, gusty winds, and high temperatures.
- Governor Cox urges prayers for rain; entire state faces high fire danger.
SALT LAKE CITY — Weather experts are helping around the clock as crews continue to battle the Forsyth, France Canyon and Bridge Creek fires in southern Utah.
The National Weather Service in Salt Lake City sent one of its meteorologists to southern Utah to consult directly with firefighters and local agencies.
Meteorologists, including Monica Traphagan, said Sunday's change in weather didn't bring the relief they're hoping for.
"For rain over the next seven days, we're looking dry," Traphagan said.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox encouraged Utahns to pray for rain, especially this week. Traphagan said, however, that models are showing the opposite of what they'd like to see.
"We're going to see the winds pick up, not quite to the extent of last week, but could still see in southern Utah some gusts in excess of 30 miles per hour," she said.
She said this weekend's cool-down was welcome, but it didn't make a big enough difference.
"Unfortunately, that trough that just moved through didn't have a lot of moisture associated with it," Traphagan said.
She said the low humidity, high temperatures and gusty winds could be dangerous.
"So dry that if you do have showers, a lot of it evaporates before it hits the ground," she said. "That can bring its own, unique issues with fire danger that brings back the potential for microburst winds and also dry lightning."
Related:
'It's a miracle' no more homes have burned in fast-moving Pine Valley fire, Cox says
Gov. Spencer Cox said Sunday "it's a miracle" no more homes have burned in the wildfire ravaging parts of southern Utah's Pine Valley Mountains.She and the governor said the entire state should be on alert.
"It's not just southern Utah that's seeing high fire danger," Traphagan said. "That's in northern Utah as well."
Traphagan's team is briefing firefighters and other agencies on weather conditions that could complicate their jobs or put them at risk.
"We're open 24/7 and they're free to call us at any time if they just want to discuss what's happening," she said.
The National Weather Service currently has no fire weather warnings out for this week, but Traphagan said they're watching the situation closely.
"We're going to see localized areas, particularly Tuesday and Wednesday, isolated spots in southern Utah that'll have low enough relative humidity, high enough wind to meet those criteria," she said.
