Summery temperatures were recorded on the Washington Coast and at Mount Rainier on Monday, caused by the same high-pressure system that’s brought mild temperatures to the Inland Northwest.
In Spokane and Coeur d’Alene, highs today should reach the upper 40s to lower 50s.
An agricultural weather station at Long Beach recorded a high of 78 on Monday, said Washington State University meterorologist Nic Lloyd.
It was 71 degrees at Paradise on Mount Rainier on Monday.
An overnight temperature inversion that causes cold air to settle into the lower atmosphere is holding back warming on the ground today, but the sunny skies and higher sun angle of February will allow for modest warming.
In Spokane, Tuesday’s early-morning weather balloon released at the National Weather Service office near Airway Heights recorded a temperature of 31 degrees on the ground, with the temperature rising to 50 degrees at 7,000 feet.
Some locations to the south and southwest of Spokane could see highs into the 60s.
Astoria, Oregon, and Forks, Washington were at 64 degrees at noon today.
The high air pressure over the region is unusual for this time of year and more commonly seen in the summer, experts said.
