Heat ramps up with record-breaking temperatures expected

SEATTLE — Here comes the heat! With a forecast temperature of 95 degrees for Seattle on Tuesday, we’re set to break the record high, which was 92 in 2018.

Most of the Puget Sound region is under an excessive heat warning from noon Tuesday until 9 p.m. Friday. Cooling centers are open this week to give people who don’t have anywhere to escape the heat a place to cool down.

Some important reminders:

• Stay hydrated.
• Avoid long exposure in the sun.
• Don’t leave pets or people in vehicles.
• Carefully monitor outdoor fires.
• Check on your relatives and neighbors, especially if they are elderly.

People are also urged to remember their animals during hot weather. Here are ways to keep your pet cool.

Meanwhile, we’re tracking wildfire danger statewide in light of this week’s heat wave.

A wildfire meteorologist with the state’s Department of Natural Resources said fire danger is going to be creeping up this week.

Forecast

High pressure aloft has set up over the northeast Pacific, and this is going to keep more significant weather systems away from Washington over the next week. At the same time, cooling breezes off the Pacific Ocean are shutting down, and that spells a heat wave for the entire state of Washington, except for right at the Pacific coast, where the cooling winds will still keep temperatures in the 70s to near 80.

The temperatures we’ll experience during this heat wave aren’t unusual for our hottest times in the summer, though the duration of the heat wave is a bit longer than we usually experience. KIRO 7 Chief Meteorologist Morgan Palmer is forecasting four days of 90 degree or hotter high temperatures for Seattle from Tuesday through Friday. This has only happened eight other times since 1945, when the “Seattle” climate station moved to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Palmer said it’s not a certainty it will last four days. We might come just shy on Friday.

Tuesday and Wednesday are likely to be the two hottest days of this stretch, with highs from the 80s across areas from Everett north with some low 90s sprinkled in. Expect mid-to-upper 90s around King, Kitsap, Pierce, Thurston, Lewis and Mason counties, including Seattle, Tacoma, Bremerton and Olympia. Seattle’s record high for Tuesday is 92 degrees — a pretty low bar to clear, so we should set a new daily record high.

The rest of the week, record highs are in the upper 90s or low 100s for Seattle, but Palmer said he doesn’t expect that kind of heat.

At night in and near the urban areas, temperatures will be slow to fall, with mid-60s lows being reached only around sunrise. For city dwellers without air conditioning in the central and south Puget Sound, it will be very uncomfortable sleeping weather.

For the potentially dangerous heat and warm nights, an excessive heat warning has been issued for the core locations around Puget Sound. A heat advisory has been issued for other locations, where overnight lows might be a bit more tolerable.

Palmer expects central Washington to get into the low 100s the next few days and an excessive heat warning is in effect there, too.

Thursday and Friday will have the heat backing off a few more degrees, but it’s still likely to be at or just above 90 for the Seattle area.

Over the weekend, onshore flow will start up again and highs for many will be back in the 80s — still warm, but more tolerable.

We could be back in the 70s for highs in the Seattle area next week.

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