Saturday brought improvement to the smoke situation in Western Washington, despite heavy smoke aloft. Air quality has improved back to moderate and good west of the Cascades. Marine air cleared out most surface smoke on Saturday, but it’ll take a bit longer to clear out the thick smoke aloft. The photo below is from Federal Way this evening.
Smoke stays put overnight, and while marine stratus clouds will move in, the smoke aloft will begin to gradually decrease.
Below is 7 AM Sunday. Marine stratus will also be present at this time. Smoke aloft is still thick.
Fast forward to 7 PM, and the smoke is well on its way out. Westerly winds will be scouring out the smoke.
By Monday morning, the skies over Western Washington will be mostly smoke free!
Cooler weather and rain, due to a Pacific system moving in, will be the cause of this change by Monday. Below is the Weather Underground forecast for Federal Way.
Expect temperatures in the 80s on Sunday, dropping to the mid 70s on Monday and Tuesday, the coolest temperatures of August so far! Sunnier and warmer weather arrives again on Wednesday, as temperatures increase into the 80s once again. Lows through this period will be in the mid-upper 50s, much better than the lows in the 60s we’ve recently experienced.
The weather system on Monday and Tuesday will bring some rain showers to the area. Below is the UW forecast for rain through Tuesday evening.
Amounts in the Puget Sound area will be highest in the Convergence Zone, with up to 0.1” possible. 0.2-0.3” is possible in the Cascades and on the coast. Some parts of the area, particularly between Seattle and Olympia, will end up being rain-shadowed.
Despite wildfire smoke leaving Western Washington, many large fires are still burning in the West. To see active fires, click the link below and use the map to find information about current wildfires.
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