It’s Monday already?  Oops, the actual day of the week didn’t ‘register' in my retirement head ’til just now.  Mug-sorry about that. 

 

Warm-to-hot conditions will hold through Wed, then a cooler air mass will begin working its way down the Alaskan Panhandle & BC coast to bring us the first chance for rain across a broad area of the PNW later Thu & Fri.  The system will not be a strong one, just enough to get forecasters to write about rainfall (0.10"-0.15”), at least from Chehalis north into southern BC.  A shower or two could dampen the pavement around Portland/Salem before the whole spinning Low drifts east later on Fri.  It will be cooler.

 

The cooler air mass will bring on a truly pleasant 1st full weekend for August 2021.  Temps will bump up from Fri, but not into the heat level we have been experiencing of late.  The somewhat cooler pattern will hold into the week of Aug 9-13, with increasing chance for precip from possible thunderstorms east of the Cascades, as a weak Low centers just west of the OR coast by Wed the 11th.  As stated, a rather stable pattern will hold off another heat-up for the PNW.  Expect pleasant, seasonal temps through the weekend of Aug 14,15.  Coastal winds may let up quite a bit during this period - - - will the kites fly?

 

Warm-up expected during the week of Aug 16-20, esp east of the Cascades, with a shift in the pattern favoring an offshore flow component.  We’ll see.

 

Again, pardon the tardiness.

 

 

Last post for this month.  Not a lot of change, although some moisture, potentially, is peeking into the picture for southern BC & NW WA.  Let’s take a Mug minute.

 

Dry pattern remains, unless one gets caught under a thunderstorm, mainly along slopes and to the east of the Cascades.  Some of these storms may wander west enough to bring a clap of thunder to southern Willamette Valley over the next 2 days.  It will remain HOT, with a cooler pattern beginning on Sunday.  

 

Still dry & a few degrees cooler next week, with a Pacific Low moving towards Vancouver Is & the NW corner of WA later in the week.  There are charts that hint of precip for areas around the Puget Sound, north beginning over N Vanc Island late Wed Aug 4, spreading SE by Thu evening.  Showers, if they develop at all, could last Thu & Fri.  Sorry OR Patrons, we may only get a cloudy period; no precip.  COOLER, of course.  

 

The weekend of Aug 7,8 is trending dry everywhere; seasonal temps.  It will begin to warm up again late that weekend, continuing on through most of the following week, Aug 9-13 (yep, 90s again for western OR; tad cooler for the Sound).  After Fri the 13th, temps will again cool down with the onshore flow increasing across the region.

 

Extra Cream & Sugar:  we continue to get reports of the Song of Summer (think western field crickets) beginning in areas of the Willamette Valley.  At least something remains ’normal’.  Oh, and our Giant Pumpkin is growing at a steady 12-15 pounds every 24 hrs, coming in at 258 lb. today.  

 

 

 

Our 2021 Summer pattern remains steady.  At least we have the option to vary our mornin’ beverage, right?  BTW: western field cricket ’songs of summer’ are now being noted by Patrons!  Early this year, but that is expected given how warm it has been since Spring.  It's always an annual treat for WxCafé (TM) Patrons to take note of the chirps of our field crickets.  Listen.  Once the crickets get going, the 'songs of summer' will last into the Fall.

 

Sunshine, with some high clouds and the chance for thunderstorms along the southern OR Cascades (fire risk), will be in store through Wed.  Come Thu, the upper level pattern will shift just enough to partially open the oven door again, esp for OR & SW WA.  This time, temperatures will remain below record levels.  Still, Thu through Sat are likely to be the hottest days since our last heat wave.  Oregon: 90s to low 100s west of the Cascades; Puget Sound region the upper 80s are possible.  East side will turn hotter and remain so longer than the west, per usual.  Some SMOKE from CA & southern OR fires could tease its way over western valley locations. but not at the surface.  

 

Sunday Aug 1 should be a bit cooler that the previous 3 days, as an onshore wind will begin to kick-up again.  Next week is trending seasonal, with a notable afternoon NW wind holding temps at bay.   

 

A ‘repeat play’ may take place next Thu - Sat, Aug 5-7 with temps bumping back up several degrees heading into that weekend.  Similarly, Sunday the 8th, should begin the next cool down, this time, temps may drop a little below average - if models are correct and a cool Low drifts south just off the coast of OR/WA.  That pattern could lead into a MUGGY few days once that Low, if it forms at all, moves west of northern CA.  Too far out to make that call.

 

A Pacific Hurricane may form and re-fuel the SW desert monsoons, subsequently resulting in notable thunderstorm action moving into our eastern basins & Cascades after the 12th of Aug.  

Bottom line:  no rain is foreseen for the next couple of weeks, excluding a shower under a thunderstorm in the mountains or east side.

 

 

Friday July 23

 

"Beautiful portraits of the atmosphere are often painted on the canvas of the SW desert sky” -Rufus.  One such lovely ‘painting’ was photographed by Karen Peterson in Carson New Mexico last Thursday (image below).  For the PNW, lots of blue paint sky weather is in store, although temperatures will begin to heat up later next week.  Refill your Friday Mug.

 

The position of the Summer Pacific High pressure ridge continues to produce favorable weather for our region.  Onshore flow will ebb & flow for the next 2-3 weeks, resulting in mild temps along with a few hot afternoons thrown in for summer’s sake.  The only negative is the lack of precipitation (sorry, Firefighters).  Temperatures this weekend will bump up into the upper 80s to lower 90s across much of western OR (a bit cooler for Puget Sound Patrons); summer hot east of the mountains.  Next week will start out with a few cooler afternoons following morning clouds in some locations.  Then, we may enter an extended period of rather warm temperatures.

 

That’s right, the overall pattern is modeled to shift just enough to open that door for more summer heat.  The coming heat-up will NOT be anywhere like the last heat wave.  Still, the potential is there for a stretch of the warmest weather since that historic event.  Right now, by the end of next week, expect temps to ramp up into the lower 90s as the weekend of July 31-Aug 1 unfolds.  The heat will remain in play through the early days of August.  We are not forecasting 7 straight days of 90+ weather; just a run of days with temperatures running on the ‘warm side’ (85-99F), as compared to most of this past week (July 19-22).  Thu - Sat, Aug 5-7 are charting to be the coolest days between now and Aug 10.  We’ll see.

 

 

 

 

 

What can we say?  The steady weather pattern over the PNW continues 'on and on' this month.  Details don’t vary much, so we’ll simply post the following:

 

DRY, with afternoon NW breezes, with a few days warming into the upper 80s to lower 90s, otherwise pleasant temps.  That’s about it through the end of July 2021.  Early August is trending much the same.

 

Work on. Harvest on. Vacation on. Mug on, Patron!