SEATTLE — The heat continues around Western Washington and while we have only set some sporadic daily records (tied Seattle at 91 and Olympia at 92 today) and some other days earlier this summer were just as hot or hotter than we’ve experienced, the duration of this heat wave and impacts on those without cooling continue to be the big story.
Three days straight of 90 or hotter in Seattle hasn’t happened this late in summer on record.
Air quality is in the moderate range in many spots in Western Washington. While hazy skies are the rule, that is typical during a summer heat wave, and only somewhat worsened by smoke from distant wildfires.
Smoke from the Bear Gulch fire in Mason County is causing some worse air quality in the immediate vicinity with some other impact to air quality in spots from Tacoma southward. Expect hazy skies and moderate air quality through Tuesday though some spots will dip to “unhealthy for sensitive groups” category.
There could be some more smoke aloft by Wednesday but whether it will meaningfully affect surface air quality is uncertain.
High temperatures Tuesday will be just as warm as Monday in many spots, meaning upper 80s for the Seattle area and touching 90 or a little hotter from around Tacoma south. The Extreme Heat Warning and Heat Advisory areas remain in effect through Tuesday, expiring at 5 a.m. Wednesday.
A slight increase in humidity and a change to a southerly wind flow aloft will bring the chance for a few isolated thunderstorms mainly in the south Cascades late Tuesday but a slightly better chance (still fairly low) for Wednesday.
There is the extreme outside shot of some high-based showers bringing a few raindrops, mainly across the southern part of the lowlands on Wednesday evening.
Wednesday is also when we’ll see our highs drop to the low 80s for the Seattle area — an end to the heat wave. However, it stays warmer than normal the rest of the week with highs in the 80s, only dropping to highs in the upper 70s in Seattle this weekend.
The long-range outlook for Labor Day calls for above-normal temperatures (though perhaps no more heat waves) and above-average chance for precipitation, likely more in the form of chances for afternoon and evening mountain showers and storms.
SEATTLE FORECAST:
Morning Low: 62
Afternoon High: 88
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