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March 29, 2024

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Weather Eye: It’ll be hot, even on coast and in mountains

The Columbian
Published: August 12, 2010, 12:00am

OK, the heat is on, and not just on the weatherman. Everyone will literally be sweating out this next round of 90-degree weather. Forecast models late Wednesday are indicating the heat may very well linger into early next week — so warm and dry.

If you want to cool off, heading to the ocean breaches will offer little relief unless you are wading in the 50-something-degree water. Easterly winds will drive hot air all the way to the coast, especially the northern Oregon and Washington beaches. Temperatures along the coast will soar into the 80s and maybe 90 degrees or better. It will be very warm in the mountains and east of the Cascades, as well.

Earlier, it was looking like we could get a stray thunderstorm over the valleys, but that is looking less likely at this time. Skies should be basically clear — great for catching the tail end of the Perseid meteor shower and stargazing in general.

Today we will surpass 40 days without measurable rainfall here in Vancouver. (We’ve had only a trace.) The last measurement was on July 2, which was a frog strangler at Pearson Field. The rainfall total since Jan. 1 is 26.98 inches. So, how long can we go without measurable rainfall? Records across the river at Portland International Airport show 71 days Jun. 23-Sep. 1, 1967; 62 days Jun. 30-Aug. 30, 1984; and 55 days Jun. 20-Aug. 13, 1960. Unless we get some twist of fate later next week, we could approach that 1960 statistic.

Speaking of thunderstorms, the Washington State Climate Office says our state is “dead last” in frequency of lightning flashes in the United States. Our annual tally is about 20,000 flashes each year.

Keep cool!

Pat Timm is a local weather specialist. His column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Reach him at http://weathersystems.com.

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