Behold the dog days of... spring?
SEATTLE - And to think, the week began with snow on the ground in some spots...
Today, we're watching to see if anyone can crack 80 degrees around here as we get a little taste of summer around western Washington.
A ridge of high pressure has built over the area, helping to clear the skies. In the meantime, ironically, a storm system offshore is helping warm things up even more.
First of all, that storm is drawing up some warm air from the south. Second, with higher pressure to our east and the storm's lower pressure off to our west in the Pacific Ocean, that's creating a strong east wind.
Those who are warm weather veterans around here know that an east wind usually spells warm weather because as that air comes over the Cascade mountains, it sinks down the western slopes, and sinking air becomes warmer and drier.
What does that mean for today? A lot of record high temperatures are nervous.
We're looking at temperatures this afternoon in the low-mid 70s over most of the area, but a few places, such as the Eastside and Cascade foothills (near that sinking air) and the south Sound and southwestern Washington areas (closer to that warmer air to the south) perhaps getting into the upper 70s. Wow.
For those who want to "record-watch", Seattle's record high is 73 today and Olympia's is 77. (You can follow the current temperatures at this link, which is updated at 10 minutes past each hour.)
This "heat wave" won't last too long though. We'll cool off a bit Saturday back into the upper 60s as that front offshore begins to trickle inland and our ridge of high pressure weakens. Dry weather should hold through the day though, with a few showers arriving overnight.
By the time we get into next week, temperatures will be back to seasonal normals -- perhaps even a little below -- as high temperatures are expected to be around the low-mid 50s.
In the meantime, enjoy these "dog days of spring" :)
Today, we're watching to see if anyone can crack 80 degrees around here as we get a little taste of summer around western Washington.
A ridge of high pressure has built over the area, helping to clear the skies. In the meantime, ironically, a storm system offshore is helping warm things up even more.
First of all, that storm is drawing up some warm air from the south. Second, with higher pressure to our east and the storm's lower pressure off to our west in the Pacific Ocean, that's creating a strong east wind.
Those who are warm weather veterans around here know that an east wind usually spells warm weather because as that air comes over the Cascade mountains, it sinks down the western slopes, and sinking air becomes warmer and drier.
What does that mean for today? A lot of record high temperatures are nervous.
We're looking at temperatures this afternoon in the low-mid 70s over most of the area, but a few places, such as the Eastside and Cascade foothills (near that sinking air) and the south Sound and southwestern Washington areas (closer to that warmer air to the south) perhaps getting into the upper 70s. Wow.
For those who want to "record-watch", Seattle's record high is 73 today and Olympia's is 77. (You can follow the current temperatures at this link, which is updated at 10 minutes past each hour.)
This "heat wave" won't last too long though. We'll cool off a bit Saturday back into the upper 60s as that front offshore begins to trickle inland and our ridge of high pressure weakens. Dry weather should hold through the day though, with a few showers arriving overnight.
By the time we get into next week, temperatures will be back to seasonal normals -- perhaps even a little below -- as high temperatures are expected to be around the low-mid 50s.
In the meantime, enjoy these "dog days of spring" :)
