United States

By Alex Sosnowski, Expert Senior Meteorologist

September 17, 2012; 9:10 AM

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Clouds turn red from the setting sun where a wildfire burns nearby Monday evening, Sept. 10, 2012, near Wenatchee, Wash. Crews in central Washington and Wyoming worked Monday to protect homes from two of the many wildfires burning throughout the West as a destructive fire season stretches into September with no relief expected from the weather anytime soon. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

An extended fire season is unfolding for the Northwest.

AccuWeather.com will release its full Winter 2012-2013 Forecast to the general public during the first week of October, but the early indications are that below-normal precipitation will continue through the winter.

The normally dry weather pattern now will be exploited by a developing split in the storm track and further dryness over the fall and winter.

According to Long Range Weather Expert Paul Pastelok, "A split storm track seems likely moving through the winter with storms dropping southward along or east of the Continental Divide in Canada and storms rolling in from the Pacific into the Southwest United States."

Such a setup would leave areas west of the Divide from central British Columbia to northernmost California in a zone with little precipitation, above-normal temperatures and bouts of wind.

"There would be occasional pushes of cool air and a few storms farther south, but probably much less than average for the fall and winter," Pastelok said.

Wildfires are a way of life in the West during the late summer and fall.

According to Western Weather Expert Ken Clark, "The brush, which has been baking all summer, becomes extremely dry by September. Throw in the dry air masses which become more common during the autumn, along with increasing winds and you have the potential for a large number of fires."

The pine bark beetle has killed a significant number of trees. The dead trees are an additional fuel for the fires.

According to Canada Weather Expert Brett Anderson, "There has been an uptick of large fires in southern British Columbia in recent weeks in response to the building dryness."

A large ridge of high pressure, above normal temperatures and very dry air will continue to fuel the flames.

The pattern may be a sign of things to come not only in the short term, but for months.

If this is the case, little rain, warmth and wind will cause big problems for firefighters well through the autumn and into the winter.