Heat Continues Across the Pacific Northwest

 FastCast--Saturday, July 13 to Wednesday, July 17:

The slight cooling over the past couple days is likely to be short-lived across the Northwest, as a high pressure ridge briefly rebuilds and brings more hot conditions to the region. This weekend will be on the hotter side, especially on Saturday. For Saturday's highs, areas north of Seattle will reach the upper 70s to mid 80s, while areas south of Seattle will reach the upper 80s to low 90s. Sunday will be a bit cooler, with some areas of morning clouds, and highs from Seattle north in the mid 70s to low 80s, and in the mid to upper 80s from Seattle south. More morning clouds and cooling is ahead on Monday, with highs in the mid 70s to mid 80s, warmest from Seattle southward. However, the "relief" will likely be short-lived. On Tuesday, temperatures increase to the upper 70s to mid 80s north of Seattle and the mid 80s to low 90s from Seattle south. Wednesday looks to be hotter, with highs from Seattle north in the low to mid 80s, and highs from Seattle south in the upper 80s to low 90s. One thing to note is that high clouds will likely be moving through the area on Tuesday and Wednesday, which could keep temperatures down a few degrees from the forecast. Low temperatures across Western Washington will be in the upper 50s to low 60s, except in the low to mid 50s on the coast. Stay tuned for more information about the impacts of this prolonged "heat wave" across the region.

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After a few somewhat "cooler" days across the Northwest, the heat is back. Warmer conditions are expected on Saturday, and to a lesser extent, on Sunday. The region is likely to remain mostly dry for the foreseeable future, giving no help to containing wildfires. Let's take a look at the forecast!

We'll start with highs on Saturday, seen below on the NWS NBM high-resolution model.

This forecast shows Saturday's highs in the upper 70s to mid 80s from Seattle northward, and in the mid 80s to low 90s from Seattle south. The Willamette Valley will reach the low to mid 90s, and Eastern Washington will reach the upper 90s to mid 100s, hottest around the Tri-Cities. The coast, meanwhile, will reach the mid 60s at the beaches to low 70s inland.

Moving to Sunday, some cooling is likely for Western Washington, as seen below.

On Sunday, expect highs from Seattle north to reach the mid 70s to mid 80s, while areas from Seattle south will reach the mid to upper 80s. The coast will cool to the mid 60s to low 70s, with some beaches remaining in the low 60s. The Willamette Valley will reach the upper 80s to low 90s, and Eastern WA will reach the mid 90s to low 100s.

Monday will bring more cooling, and will be the "coolest" day for at least 5 days.

On Monday, temperatures in the lowlands will reach the mid 70s to low 80s from Seattle north and the low to mid 80s from Seattle south. The coast will reach the mid to upper 60s (low to mid 60s at the beaches), and the Willamette Valley will reach the upper 80s to low 90s. Eastern Washington will drop slightly to the low 90s to low 100s.

Tuesday brings the start of another warmer period, although temperatures could be a few degrees below what is shown due to some high clouds moving through the region (stay tuned to see if this pans out). Below is the NWS NBM forecast for Tuesday.

On Tuesday, highs from Seattle north will reach the upper 70s to mid 80s, while highs from Seattle south will reach the mid 80s to low 90s. The Willamette Valley will reach the low to mid 90s, and Eastern Washington will reach the upper 90s to low 100s. The coast will warm up a bit, with highs increasing to the low to mid 70s, except still in the mid to upper 60s at the beaches.

Further warmth is possible on Wednesday, with above average conditions likely to continue through the next 7-10 days. This is due to persistent high pressure ridging over the Western US and Western Canada. This ridging deflects incoming Pacific systems, allowing the West to remain hot and dry. 

The 10-day precipitation forecast from the European model paints a concerning picture.

This forecast shows a potential for some light rain (under 0.05") next week along the coast, and concerningly shows very light rain, produced by thunderstorms, over the Cascades. Any threat of mostly dry thunderstorms at this time of year is very concerning. Stay tuned for more information as this hot and dry stretch continues across the Northwest.