Weather Eye: The week may cool off, but why complain about it?

Saturday’s weather was picture perfect in my book and just about as normal as one can get in July. Normal is this case means highs around 78 degrees and no rain. We will have another round of normal today before things begin to deteriorate.

The upcoming week looks like we will be dominated by an upper low off the coast bringing periods of clouds to us and drizzle along the coast. Inland, expect morning clouds and afternoon sunshine, but not much of that sunshine some days. So overall, cooler and cloudier than normal.

June saw rainfall fall off around our neck of the woods; let’s check in with our friends and neighbors:

Murphy Dennis, near Clark County Rifles, 3.41 inches; Judy Darke, Felida, 0.59 of an inch; Gary Collins, Brush Prairie; 1.77 inches; Irv St. Germain, Prune Hill, 1.85 inches; Bob Starr, Cougar, 2.02 inches; Robin Ruzek, Lakeshore, 0.79 of an inch; Phil Delany, above Dole Valley, 3.10 inches; Phil Harris, Washougal, 0.89 of an inch; Bill Sobolewski, Livingston Mountain, 3.06 inches; Bud Maddux, Home Valley, 1.61 inches; Pete Conrad, near Tukes Mountain, 1.18 inches; Nancy Ellifrit, Mt. Vista, 1.80 inches; Larry Lebsack, Hazel Dell, 0.92 of an inch; Tyler Mode, Battle Ground, 1.51 inches; Merle Moore, two miles west of Yacolt, 1.93 inches; Sandy Nesvick, east Vancouver, 1.63 inches; Tom Dixon, Amboy, 1.26 inches; Dave Campbell, one mile west of Heisson, 1.60 inches; Jim Knoll, Five Corners, 1.01 inches; Ellen Smart, Ridgefield, 0.90 of an inch; and Tyler Mode, Minnehaha, 0.74 of an inch.

A few remarks from the fellow weather observers:

Dave Campbell said, “Finally! Little taste of summer.”

Jim Knoll commented, “Yes, June wasn’t all that bad, especially if you remember last year’s June when I received over 5½ inches of rain. Sure, we had only a handful of really warm days but you shouldn’t expect too much in June.”

Sandy Nesvick noted, “I turned on our sprinkler system June 30th and the first time it ran was July 2nd. That’s the latest since we moved here in January 2006.”

Finally, Pete Conrad: “Well, it’s back to watering the gardens and landscaping. It doesn’t take long for the ground to dry out … especially if you have some big trees on or adjacent to your property.”

And so it goes. Summer is here and with no real rain in sight; keep the sprinkler going.

And if you are still looking for that first 90-degree day, maybe we’ll chat about that on Tuesday.

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