SEATTLE — While we’re dealing with extreme wildfire conditions near and east of the Cascade crest (largely following a major lightning episode in mid-July), Western Washington has largely avoided extreme heat conditions so far during the peak of summer.
Statistically, our “hottest” weeks of the year are in late July and early August, and starting Monday, Seattle’s average high temperature has now fallen by one degree to 78°
For the coming days, much of the western U.S. will have hot temperatures, while in Western Washington, we’re going to have milder temperatures near to just slightly above seasonal averages going into the weekend.
What about the smoke? I expect smoke to stay east of the Cascade crest through mid-week, with the chance for isolated thunderstorms possible in the afternoon hours of Wednesday and Thursday. While new fire starts could happen anywhere, we likely won’t have to worry about smoke in Western Washington until late this week or the weekend. By then, we could get some wildfire smoke back in our skies, or at least hazy conditions aloft.
There really is no rain in sight, but at least through the next couple of weeks, I don’t see a quick return to extreme heat in Western Washington. Pretty nice late summer weather!
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