By Gordon McCraw, Tillamook County Emergency Management Director
Friday, August 13, 2021, 09:00am
Weather
Warm here but still hot over in the valley with the ridge of high pressure drifting east over the area. The ridge will continue east today but will still be causing hot temperatures through the valley. Over here we continue to have our marine influence keeping the temperatures moderated with highs here in the low to mid 70s again today.
The high will push further east tomorrow as a trough of low pressure drops down from the Gulf of Alaska and this would help increase the onshore flow which would start a cool down for area including over in the valley by Sunday. Another issue the valley will have this weekend though is the smoke from the wildfires to the south will be pushing northward in the southwesterly flow that develops. There is also a chance that this smoke could mix down to the lower levels further impacting the air quality there.
So, the trough nears the coast Sunday which would help push the temperatures down further, especially at the start of next week. Until then I suspect we will see the daytrippers migrating to cooler areas along the coast. The weekend weather here is continued hazy skies after any patchy morning fog clears, afternoon winds westerly 5-10, the highs near 70, nighttime temperatures continue in the low to mid 70s.
It looks like a weak front will push through later Sunday night into Monday but does little except increase the onshore flow that then pushes into the valley where the high temperatures will “only” be in the mid 80s for the start of next week. This will also help the valley with any smoke issues, and the hazy skies here at the coast.
After Monday the models are mixed, some say the trough will hang in the area, keeping the temperatures cooler, some say the high pressure returns and that would push the temperatures up more. For now, we kind of blend the two and say we remain mostly sunny with highs near 70 through the middle of next week.
The Oregon Health Authority (Authority), Public Health Division is temporarily adopting OAR 333-019-1025 requiring masks to be worn in indoor spaces in Oregon.
This temporary rule is effective August 13, 2021, through February 8, 2022.
The temporary rule is in response to the significant increase in COVID-19 cases and the significant decrease in hospital bed capacity in Oregon as a result of spread of the Delta variant.
COVID-19 undergoes frequent mutations as it replicates, which over time has resulted in variants that are more transmissible, cause more severe disease, or have other features of public health concern such as decreased vaccination effectiveness. At the time of this rule adoption, the Delta variant made up the vast majority of sequenced specimens in Oregon. The Delta variant is approximately two to three times more infectious than early wild-type COVID-19 variants. There is emerging evidence that people infected with the Delta variant have similar viral loads regardless of vaccination status suggesting that even vaccine breakthrough cases may effectively transmit this variant.
COVID-19 infection is transmitted predominately by inhalation of respiratory droplets generated when people cough, sneeze, sing, talk, or breathe. Studies show that masks and face coverings block the release of respiratory droplets into the environment and can reduce the wearer’s exposure to droplets. COVID-19 viral particles spread between people more readily indoors than outdoors. In the interest of public health, individuals are required to wear a mask or face covering when in indoor spaces defined as follows:
“Indoor spaces” mean anywhere indoors, including but not limited to public and private workplaces, businesses, indoor areas open to the public, building lobbies, common or shared spaces, classrooms, elevators, bathrooms, transportation services and other indoor spaces where people gather for any purpose. An indoor space does not include a private residence, or a private automobile used for personal use that is not used for ride sharing.
For more details, please see the Temporary Administrative Order, including the Statement of Need and Justification and the full text of the temporary rules at the following website:
www.healthoregon.org/diseasereporting