You likely noticed 2 weather-related things on Tuesday…some smoke in Western Washington and the coldest morning in over 2 months. This blog will talk about both of them, plus a chance of rain on Thursday and Friday.
Smoke is visible behind the Seattle skyline in this photo I took Tuesday evening on the ferry from Bremerton.
This smoke came from fires in Eastern Washington, and due to the short distance it traveled to get here, it was aloft and near the surface, resulting in briefly degraded AQI in the “moderate” category and the occasional smell of smoke, as well as hazy skies.
Let’s quickly take a look at the smoke forecast. First off…near-surface smoke shouldn’t be an issue from Wednesday onward, and air quality will remain in the “good” category.
Below is the forecast smoke aloft at 7 AM Wednesday.
More smoke from Eastern Washington has moved across the Cascades, particularly from the Schneider Springs Fire (has burned 68,193 acres ~20 miles NE of Naches, 3% contained as of Tuesday night).
By 2 PM Wednesday, westerly winds have begun to blow away the smoke.
And finally, by 7 AM Thursday, our air is smoke-free once again!
Below is the Weather Underground forecast for Federal Way.
The warmest day in awhile will be Wednesday, with highs in the upper 70s to low 80s. Clouds return from late Wednesday to late Friday. There is a chance of showers on Thursday (Seattle southward will be a bit rain-shadowed…see rain map below for more details). Thursday and Friday’s highs will be in the upper 60s to low 70s. Sun returns for the weekend, with highs in the mid 70s, quite comfortable for Western Washington!
Below is the UW rain forecast through 5 PM Friday.
0.01-0.1 inches of rain is possible for most of Western Washington, with 0.1-0.5 inches possible north of Everett and in the Cascades. We need all we can get!
Now…if you saw on the forecast shown previously, low temperatures will generally stay in the low-mid 50s. This is cooler than late June, July, and most of August’s lows. Tuesday morning was the coolest morning since mid June (before the extreme heat wave), with lows in the low 40s to low 50s across Western Washington, and as cold as the upper 30s in the Cascades! Tuesday’s lows are below.
It sure felt chilly out! Expect lows mainly in the low 50s to continue into the start of September, a bit colder in valleys and particularly outlying areas. For those of you weary after a hot & dry summer, let this be a reminder that fall is approaching!
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