The Weather Cafe ® by Rufus

Written by Rufus La Lone since 1994.

Pleasant Summer

Posted by Rufus La Lone on

Friday July 26
Comfortable summer weather continues as we near the end of July.  Morn’n bev ready?
Pleasant temp range this weekend around the PNW.  By late Sunday, a cool trough of Low pressure drops south along the BC coast, ushering in a chance for a few showers over Vancouver Is & environs.  Partly cloudy, mild over the Sound, with chance for a shower or two.  (We simply do not ’see’ a big rain event next week, as have other forecasters, but we could be in error.)  For OR & ID, expect the sunny pattern to roll through the weekend and continue next week.  
Right now, it looks like our next ‘heat up’ may begin later next week, say Thu or Fri.  Temps around the PNW are likely to bump back up into the uncomfortable range —> 90+.  
The first few days of August - including the weekend - could be rather toasty & a tad muggy, as a heat Low builds to the east, setting off possible thunderstorms east side.  Early yet on this, but be aware.  The heat will reach north into SW BC.  Sunday could be a few degrees cooler, esp north of Chehalis.
Weak onshore flow for the week of Aug 5-9 should tap down regional temperatures back into the 80s inland (warmer in the eastern basins).  
🌀 Topical Tropical:  The Eastern Pacific will spin up a couple hurricanes, with no threat of landfall.  The yet-to-be-named storm, CARLOTTA, may drift towards to Hawaii before diminishing.   Quiet in the Atlantic, although the dry Saharan air mass may weaken, opening the door for tropical storm development west of Africa.  
“A yawn is at least an honest opinion."
-Rufus
Copyright © 1994-2024 - All Rights Reserved - The Weather Café ®
Read more →

Pleasant

Posted by Rufus La Lone on

Monday July 22
Pleasant wx pattern ahead to run out the month of July (hey, slow down summer!).  Mug time.
Indeed, temperatures will remain pleasant for the last days of July 2024; morning marine clouds will pop in, at times, esp over the Puget Sound north, with clearing in the afternoons (a shower or two possible for northern half of Vancouver Island).  Temp range will be 70s to low 80s NW WA; 80s for western OR, although a few 90s may tease out across southern OR and eastern basins of WA & OR.  No notable precip.
The first week of August is currently trending approximately 10 degrees warmer than these last days of July.  It will remain dry.
Topical Tropical:  an abundance of a very dry Saharan Air Layer across the hurricane ‘birthing zone’ of the tropical Atlantic will continue to inhibit the formation and/or intensification of tropical storms, at least in the short term.
“There are two ways to be fooled.  One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.” -Soren Kierkegaard
-Rufus
Copyright © 1994-2024 - All Rights Reserved - The Weather Café ®
Read more →

Summer Shorts

Posted by Rufus La Lone on

Friday July 19
Great time for wearing summer shorts; we’ll keep this short, too.  You know the refill drill.  Got it?
  • No rain through at least Aug 6.
  • Plenty of sunshine, although a few mornings will present a marine cloud deck - esp Puget Sound region.
  • Temps will trend up a few days (this weekend), then down a few days - all within the range of 80-95, cooler on the coast.
  • A few days next week will be the coolest since early June.  
  • Possible storm cells along eastern slopes of the Cascades on Sunday the 21st.
  • Afternoon breezes, esp Columbia Gorge.
“Most of the time, the shortest distance between two points is under construction.” 
-Rufus
Copyright © 1994-2024 - All Rights Reserved - The Weather Café ®
Read more →

Degree Range

Posted by Rufus La Lone on

Monday July 15
There’s a new ’twist’ in the outlook the next couple of weeks.  ☕️ Mug time.
For this week, expect temps to continue in the 85-95 degree range, with Tue likely to push above the high side of that range; 96-100 possible in portions of western OR.  The lower end of that range will likely arrive Wed-Fri July 17-19.  Puget Sound region a bit cooler, of course.  Humidity will likely increase mid-week, with chance for thunderstorms along the Cascade Range, south-to-north.
The coming weekend - July 20,21 - is trending with temps climbing back up into the higher end of the range noted above.  Rather warm around the Puget Sound, north this weekend, as well.  After that, a pleasant cooling trend is likely.
The week of July 22 - 26 will present the first significant cooling down period of July.  A notable onshore push will arrive, as a trough approaches from the NW on Mon, ushering in marine clouds, drizzle along the coast, and even a chance for a shower or two over the Puget Sound & southern BC.  Strong westerly in the Columbia River Gorge; breezy elsewhere.  Coolest days will be Tue & Wed (70s).  By Fri, temperatures will begin to elevate once again. 
The last weekend of July is looking to rather hot.  Temps in the 90s probable; lower 100s southern OR.  Cooler pattern again the following week, but that’s too far out for ‘forecast’, per say.
“The biggest communication problem is that we do not listen to understand.  We listen to reply.” -Stephen Covey
-Rufus
Copyright © 1994-2024 - All Rights Reserved - The Weather Café ®
Read more →

Going Steady

Posted by Rufus La Lone on

Friday July 12
No, our tag line is not about ‘going steady’ in the dating sense; rather, it’s about the range of temperatures for the next couple of weeks around the PNW.  Keep your Mug steady; no spills.  Here goes - - -
We see a steady summer temperature range ahead for the PNW for the balance of July.  No extreme heat is on the charts; no big cool down with rain.  “Steady as she goes”.  Western OR & SW WA temps will range from the mid 80s to lower 90s; the Puget Sound & north will be a few degrees cooler, per usual.  Eastern basins present classic summer hot; coastal zones cool, with marine clouds that may or may not clear off in the afternoons.  Marine clouds also will be in play around the Puget Sound, with periodic clearing & sunshine.  
East slope Cascade thunderstorms are possible - esp middle of next week -  but the quite stormy pattern mentioned in our last report has disappeared.
Humidity will trend normal for the PNW, helping with fire issues.  Afternoon winds will pick-up, at time, although no extremes are charting at this time.  Irrigation for the appropriate crops should continue.  
All-in-all, a simple forecast: a steady summer pattern.  Plan accordingly and enjoy the great PNW.  We truly live in a beautiful place.
“One of the easiest things to find is fault."
-Rufus
Copyright © 1994-2024 - All Rights Reserved - The Weather Café ®
Read more →