The Temple at Burning Man in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada on August 30, 2017.
(Julia Beverly/Getty Images)
Burning Man is getting underway in the Nevada desert and the weather could include wildfire smoke, heat and thunderstorms, each of which would have impacts on this year’s event.
The annual festival celebrating art and self-expression takes place in the Black Rock Desert about 120 miles north-northeast of Reno.
The gates officially opened just after midnight early Sunday morning, and the event ends the following Sunday night, Sept. 6.
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There are over a half dozen wildfires burning in parts of northwest Nevada, including the Hawk Fire, which earlier prompted evacuations of more than 90,000 residents northwest of Reno.
None of these wildfires are directly threatening the Burning Man site.
However, any southwest wind that persists long enough could blow some smoke from the Hawk Fire and two others (Bug, Stallion) north of Reno toward the Black Rock Desert.
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Unfortunately, that southwesterly wind is in the forecast through the middle of next week, but usually occurs only in the afternoon.
If you’re attending, make sure to bring a mask in case wildfire smoke moves in. Wildfire smoke contains small particles that are hazardous for both your respiratory system and bloodstream.
Below is a map of the current smoke in the area. Smoke conditions have been low so far.
Heat and thunderstorms are other threats
There’s some good news in that we expect sunny and warm weather as the festival officially kicks off.
This week, we expect daytime highs generally in the 80s and 70s, fairly par for the course in early September.
(MORE: Burning Man forecast details)
The other concern this time of year is thunderstorms.
Sometimes they’re dry, instead blasting areas with strong, dust-laden winds along with lightning that could start new fires.
Last year, strong winds and blowing dust injured four and damaged camps before the Burning Man events began.
Other times, they can produce a quick burst of heavy rain, as was the case with the muddy mess as festival-goers tried to leave the event three years ago.
Fortunately, the chance of thunderstorms looks small, and much of Burning Man week looks dry.
Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at weather.com and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him on Bluesky, X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.