Summer continues its easy pace as clouds and sun intertwine with breezy northwest winds satisfying our placid moods. More of the same all week with highs today and Wednesday in low 80s and cooler 70s Thursday and Friday with more of the clouds streaming by adding a bit of skyward interest.
We asked last week where are those elusive 90-degree temperatures that July is noted for. Well, at that time nothing could be seen on the horizon. Looking at longer range forecast models, beginning Sunday and Monday, we could swing upward a notch or two into the hot category. If all goes as planned, 90 degrees and better will take place early next week.
I’m not entirely locked into that thinking quite yet, maybe because I enjoy this “just right” temperature. We’ll look deeper on Thursday and see if the trend is hotter and hotter. With Monday’s high as of 5 p.m. at 80 degrees, it was the second 80-degree day of the month and only the second day this month with a high of average or above. Eleven other days were below normal.
I was looking back 10 years ago today what I was writing about, and in 2007 we were in the midst of a 100-degree heat wave. In fact, the National Weather Service in Portland issued the first “Excessive Heat Wave Warning.”