Wildfire in Kuskokwim Valley East, Alaska

Source is global lightning (GLD) network and radar/satellite observations. Thunderstorms producing very frequent lightning moved south between Stony River and Crooked Creek from late afternoon into the overnight on 6/17. The frequent lightning led to significant fire weather concerns (red flag conditions due to lightning). A staffed wildfire near Crooked Creek was alerted to the threat for thunderstorms producing frequent lighting prior to the event.

A favorable setup for strong thunderstorms over parts of the Alaska Interior and down across the Middle Kuskokwim Valley took shape during the afternoon and evening of 6/17. Very warm temperatures in the 70s and 80s, dew points in the 50s, and a shortwave trough moving near the Alaska Range from Southcentral Alaska contributed to moderate instability and an overall environment conducive to intense thunderstorms. Thunderstorms with frequent lighting first developed over the western Interior on the afternoon of 6/17, then moved south due to northerly steering flow into parts of the Kuskokwim Valley during the afternoon and evening hours late in the day. The GLD lightning feed detected extremely frequent lighting with these thunderstorms, supporting convective-driven red flag conditions across much of the Middle Kuskokwim Valley.