Calmer weather on the charts, for the time being.  Let’s do the Monday morn’n sip.  Mug ready?

Marine morning cloud deck will remain in play much of this week.  Onshore flow, driven by a weak Low pressure trough hanging west of the Olympic Range, will be the reason.  Odds are that the Puget Sound may not clear off completely until Thu, when that Low finally shifts south down the coast, just west of OR.  

The pattern charting for late this week is similar to the one last weekend, although not as strong.  Position of the Low will train moisture north over western OR & SW WA (maybe farther north, too) with increasing chance for thunderstorms & showers beginning late Thu or overnight into Fri.  (Grass seed growers may not be too pleased — too much moisture).  Expect cloudiness & showers to end the week; mild temperatures - pegging a bit below average for late August.  East side - possible thunderstorms/showers, even into ID.

The coming weekend:  clearing, south-to-north, warmer too.  However, another pesky weak Low may hold close to Vancouver Island, keeping cloudiness and cooler temps in play for NW WA & southern BC.  Not much enough moisture is charting for notable showers, just unseasonably mild and mostly cloudy.  For OR & ID & northern CA, the weekend will be fairly decent and warming each day.  In fact, the upper-level pattern is adjusting to set up the next HEAT UP to end the month, as expected.

Week of Aug 26-30 is trending dry and warm-to-hot, esp by the end of the week.  A weak shot of cooler marine air may hold temps down over the Puget Sound early on, but all of the PNW likely to turn summer-hot by the end of the week.  90s probable in many locations.  Just in time for Labor Day weekend.

Labor Day weekend:  Dry, sunny, rather warm on Sat; Sunday may present mid-level moisture training north from California, ushering in the threat for a thunderstorm, esp along the Cascades.  This is still iffy; however, Sunday & Labor Day should be a bit cooler, with plenty of sunshine to initiate September 2024.

Showers possible to start the post-holiday week, Tue Sep 3.

Bottom line: generally cooler than normal through the balance of August, with a heat-up possible after the 27th.

From the ’Net:  The adult version of "head, shoulders, knees and toes" is "wallet, glasses, keys and phone”.

Friday August 16

After a weekend highlighted with thunderstorms, what will the rest of August be like outdoors?  You know the drill:  ☕️ Mug Up.

The pleasant temperatures experienced this past week will continue, but first the pattern will be interrupted, as the PNW is likely to experience the potential for rather intense thunderstorms & heavy showers this weekend.  It will remain warm, with elevated humidity.  Starting tomorrow afternoon, moisture moving north - from an unusually deep Low for summertime positioned along the southern OR coast - will train into western OR, SW WA and, subsequently, western WA & southern BC.  The stormy pattern will continue through Sat evening, with spotty action on Sunday, as well.  Given the position of the Low, conditions will improve south-to-north by late Sunday. 

⚠️ NOTICE: the atmosphere will be super-saturated with moisture, so any storm cell that moves over your particular location has the potential for VERY HEAVY RAIN, powerful wind gusts, and, yes, lightning.  Sudden standing water issues and localized flooding in low spots will be probable; drivers be aware!  All PNW forecasters are ‘on this’ — Ignore the cautions at your own risk!

As noted above, next week promises another series of pleasant afternoons, with periodic morning marine clouds that burn off later in the morning.  Wednesday could present additional moisture over areas north of Portland up to Olympia.  We will touch on this in our next update on Monday.

The weekend of Aug 24,25 looks pleasant.

While still quite a few days out on the forecast models, starting Tue the 27th, we continue to see another HEAT UP as the month of August comes to an end.  Temps should pop into the 90s in many western OR & WA locations; tad warmer east side, per usual.  This pattern, should it verify, is likely to hold into the first few days of September.  

Meanwhile, stay weather-alert this weekend.

Our atypical August cool-off has begun.  How long will it last?  Your role: refill that Mug; mine: get on with the answer.

An onshore flow, which cools down much of the PNW, has arrived.  A repeating morning marine cloud deck will burn off by the afternoon, with plenty of afternoon sunshine inland away from the coast.  A weak Low will push close to the WA close, north of Astoria, by the coming weekend, so expect lingering clouds and a chance for a few showers late Saturday into early Sunday Aug 18, mainly north of Chehalis up into Vancouver Island.

Next week will also start out on the cool side for August, but by Thursday, we see a return to summer heat.  Temps should pop back up into the upper 80s to 90s across the entire PNW (bit warmer in the eastern basins, per normal) from Thu through the weekend of Aug 24,25.  Onshore flow is possible again by Mon Aug 26.  

By the way, the cumulative amount of precipitation mentioned above is not likely to be much more than a ten of an inch (excluding higher elevations).  Water management teams will not change course.

Along with the ’songs of summer’ - presented nightly by our regional cricket species, wine grapes are now undergoing veraison - the process when chlorophyll in grape skins is replaced by anthocyanins (red grapes) or carotenoids (white grapes).  Wine grapes transition from growing to ripening during veraison - the pivotal point in the lifecycle of wine grapes.  Ah, August in the PNW.

Greetings, Patron.  Another morning update, with coffee ready.  

Pleasant temperatures ahead next week as an onshore flow will tap down the summer heat.  This weekend will begin the cooler period, as well.  Coastal locations will have increasing morning marine clouds, and a cool onshore breeze.  Warm & dry for the next 10 days or so.  

The ’turn’ for moisture is now delayed a few days.  A Low pressure trough (mentioned last time) will move south of the coast during the weekend of Aug 17,18; then shift back north before slowly moving inland over western WA by the 20th.  A secondary Low will also develop, ushering in a greater chance for rain or showers Tue night and Wed Aug 20,21.  This could turn out to be a cloud event, rather wet, but either way, temperatures will be cooler-than-normal for August.  Thursday Aug 22 should be dry, with a few clouds.  More showers, or even a steady light rain, look probable on Fri the 23rd, on into the last weekend of Aug 24,25.

How long will the cool pattern hold?  Hard to tell right now, of course, but the position of the Pacific High that keeps us in a 'summer-mode' will shift farther west, opening the door for cooler air from the north to drop in along the ‘eastern flanks’ of the Pacific High.  Often this is referred to as a ‘dirty high’, with weak, damp Lows moving south into the PNW, or at least cooler air masses.   Should this verify, the last 10 days of August look ‘fall like’.  

The cooler pattern - and associated moisture - will greatly aid in fire fighting around the PNW.  Let’s hope it verifies.  

Summertime forecast - dry & warm.  That’s about it for the next 11 days, then a change could be in the works.  Refill your Mug and read on.

Indeed, warm-to-hot for another week, with temps presenting in the 85-95 degree range inland from the coast.  This will include the coming weekend.

Models hint of a Low pressure trough moving south off the WA & OR coasts during the middle of NEXT week (~AUG 14), ushering in a period of elevated humidity & somewhat cooler temperatures.  By the end of next week, that Low may move closer to the coast, and also shift back to the north - oddly without ever crossing inland - setting up the chance showers late in the week over both western OR & WA.  Showers could increase by the weekend of Aug 17,18.  We’ll see if this verifies.  Moisture from that weak system could help tap down the forest fires, particularly in Canada.

Beyond the 18th, another Low may move southeast along the BC coast, opening the door (possibly) for additional showers around the PNW.  We should get a better ‘read’ on this pattern in the next report.