We have some exciting weather ahead.
Key features will be the development of a solid upper ridge above British Columbia and a low ridge that slides westward through southern Oregon (see map upstairs at 8 p.m. Sunday).
Predict Height 500 hPa at 8pm on Sunday
There are some hints in the media and some blogs that the situation is the same as June 2021. This LAF is not correct. The shape, size, intensity, and location of the highlands are different (and much less intense) and the central lows are absent in 2021. Small differences are all.
So let’s go over the next few days in detail.
Today (Thursday) is almost perfect, with a low of 70 around the area at 3pm.
The predicted temperature at 5 p.m. Friday is shown below. Cooler along the coast and Northwest Washington. Just hit 80F in Seattle, but warmer (low to mid-80s) in southwestern Washington and the Willamette Valley. Also low in the 80s in the lower Columbia basin.
Friday 5pm
By 5 p.m. Saturday, high temperatures will rise by about 2-7 degrees Fahrenheit (see below). If you don’t like the heat, head to the waters or northwest of Washington. The 80s will be further south from Everett and temperatures will warm towards the foothills of the Cascades. Much warmer in the Columbia Valley. Portland can enter the 90s. Mid 80s for Seattle away from the Sound.
5 p.m. Saturday.
On Sunday morning, with high pressures north and east and low pressure combined with westward moving lows and heat troughs over the Willamette Valley, a strong pressure band will form east of Washington, capable of generating strong winds (wind gusts up to 20-40 mph). Forecasts for sea level pressure and gusts at 5 a.m. Sunday are shown below.
With fields newly plowed in spring, such winds can increase dust/sand, leading to dust storms.
You’ll notice that strong easterly winds will blow over much of the area on Sunday, removing any sea influence and creating warming on the western slopes of the Cascades and the coastal mountains.
Temperatures on Sunday will generally be similar to Saturday’s. Maybe a little cooler east of Washington.
Monday might be the warmest day west of Cascade Crest, but I’ll talk more about that in my next blog. While the event doesn’t look like the June 2021 heatwave, some daily records could be broken.
