Weather Eye: Summer wraps up in a scorcher

Except for the smoke from forest fires around Mt. Hood, it would have been a very pleasant Saturday. We can thank the dry east winds for not only delivering the smoky skies but also fanning the flames over the Cascades.

The smoke was thick enough at times to dim the sunlight and actually keep the temperatures Saturday from reaching the 90-degree mark. Mid- to upper 80s were noted in most places. One reader emailed me that she had to bring in her laundry that she had hanging outside because of the smoke smell. So much for fresh air-dried clothing eh? The smoke smell was worse in the eastern part of the county.

More sunny and hot weather on Sunday is in the forecast with highs into the 90s still not good for the Mt. Hood fire and the others that are burning east of the Cascades in Oregon.

It should be a little cooler on Monday, then we go into an extended run of hot weather, with probably 4 or 5 days of 90-degree weather all the way into next weekend. We could even flirt with 100 degrees later this week, from Portland south into southern Oregon.

Just a few weeks ago, we all were wondering if we would have any 90-degree days, and now it appears, with the four in August and the possibility of 5 or 6 this week, we may well be up to about average for the year. Doesn’t take long to catch up now does it?

I mentioned way back in July that since July was more like June that maybe August would be like July and September more like August. So far, so true. If that were the case, October would behave like a normal September, and we’d get another very pleasant month.

Bottom line: Warm and dry until further notice as we finally get a major pattern change with very strong high pressure anchored over the western U.S.

Keep cool and have a great Labor Day!

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