Next Heat Wave Ahead for the Pacific Northwest

After a stretch of mostly comfortable weather, the next “heat wave” is on the way. It will be nothing like the previous heat wave for the Seattle area. However, temperatures of 87-90+ degrees are likely, especially Seattle southward. In Eastern Washington, temperatures of 100-110 degrees are likely, which will only worsen the wildfire and drought situation. Down in Portland, temperatures will reach the mid to upper 90s.

The UW forecast model above shows temperatures at 5 PM Thursday in Western Washington. Upper 80s to low 90s are likely, mainly south of Seattle and away from the water.

In Eastern Washington, temperatures of 100-110 degrees are likely, which will only worsen the wildfire and drought situation. 

First up is the Weather Underground forecast for Federal Way.

Tuesday and Wednesday will begin with marine clouds for some locations, then become sunny. Wednesday through Saturday will be above 85 degrees in most locations, especially away from the water. Thursday and Friday will be the hottest days, with temperatures of 85-87 degrees near the water and 87-93 degrees away from the water and in the valleys. 

In Eastern Washington, another round of extreme heat is in store. Below is the forecast for the Tri-Cities. 

Thursday through Saturday will be the hottest days, with temperatures at or over 105 degrees in the hottest spots in Eastern Washington. This will exacerbate ongoing drought and wildfire concerns. 

One more note…light concentrations of smoke aloft may impact Western Washington over the next few days, especially by Wednesday. No impact to air quality is expected at this time. The HRRR Smoke map below is for 5 PM Wednesday.

Again, the only impact of this smoke for Western WA will be some slight haze high in the atmosphere. Much different story east of the Cascades over the next few days.

Remember, wildfires of concern can be found by clicking below:

InciWeb Incident Management System

Drought information from the US Drought Monitor can be found on the right side of the blog, as can forecasts and current conditions.