Weather Eye: Hot weather might be done for remainder of month

Before Monday, this month we only had one day in the 70s, Monday was the second and we will rack up many more in the last half of the month. Monday’s temperature in Vancouver was only 72 degrees, some 10 degrees below average. It felt heavenly to me despite some humidity.

Sunday night when I went to bed near midnight my outdoor thermometer was reading 58 degrees. Wow, some good sleeping weather is coming our way. Today we will have more extensive low clouds, much like Monday, as a cool trough of low pressure moves by. Higher pressure Wednesday may allow the thermometer to reach 80 degrees, which is still below normal.

The balance of the week beyond Wednesday will have highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s for much of the county. Another deeper trough arrives late Friday into the weekend and could offer a risk of showers basically anywhere, but the chances locally right now are low at 20 percent to 30 percent. I’m sure in a day or two the forecast models will zero in on that.

I know predicting the remainder of the month is a tough act to perform by saying no more hot weather in August. Everything I study shows the cool temperatures lingering and an increased chance of some rain as cool weather systems drop down from the Gulf of Alaska. I suspect the wildfire danger to drop significantly west of the Cascades.

So, is this the end of our 90-degree heat? The average time period for recording the last of 90-degree high temperatures is around Sept. 10. Of course, they are still possible but increasingly rare by the end of September. Since 1891 Vancouver has only seen two years with a high of 90 degrees in October and those occurred in back-to-back years in 1987 and 1988.

If the current weather pattern holds to the end of the month, we will be past the peak of summer warmth. Even if we register a 90-degree high temperature in September, the fleeting angle of the sun allows the atmosphere to cool off nicely overnight.

Enjoy the pleasant weather this week, keep the garden and outdoor plants watered as I see no soaking rain in the next few days. Take good care.