By Gordon McCraw, Meteorologist for the Tillamook County Pioneer
I continue to talk about the low pressure area west of British Columbia that is still forecast to drift south towards Vancouver Island by tomorrow. With a ridge still east of the state, we would see the upper level flow turn more southwesterly tonight. This in turn would give us less overnight cloudiness so we should have partly cloudy skies tonight with light winds, the low near 52.
Tomorrow brings another mostly sunny day with afternoon westerly winds 8-12, the high near 69, then another partly cloudy night, the winds becoming light and variable, lows near 53. The pattern will change little so Sunday is looking sunny with those westerly winds 5-10, the high near 68, and mostly clear skies Sunday night, lows near 52.
Next week, it looks like the ridge to the east will build stronger and start to influence our weather with clearing skies and slightly warmer temperatures. So, Monday and Tuesday look sunny with high temperatures around 71, mostly clear nights, lows near 53. The models do suggest some gusty winds Tuesday night though.
Still not much change Wednesday or Thursday with mostly sunny skies expected, the high near 70, partly cloudy nights, lows near 54.
The “Dog Days of Summer” continue!
Earlier in the week, I mentioned the Dog Days of Summer, so, just what are the Dog Days of Summer?
Well, the “Dog Days” are the period of summer that refers to that time of particularly hot and humid weather for the Northern Hemisphere. But where did this term come from? Glad you asked!
This period happens to coincide with the rising of Sirius, the Dog Star, part of the constellation Canis Majoris, the “Greater Dog”. During this period, Sirius happens to be the brightest star in the sky, well, except for our own sun of course.
In ancient times in Greece, Egypt and Rome, it was believed that the rising of the star Sirius contributed to the extreme weather of the season. It was believed that the combination of the heat from our own sun with that of Sirius was the cause of the sweltering heat. I would say that the Midwest and South might just agree with that this year. The Farmer’s Almanac considers the Dog Days to be from July 3rd through August 11th, 40 days of the worst summer heat.
There are other superstitions associated with this period also. I will end with a verse from the Old-Timers:
Dog Days bright and clear
Indicate a happy year;
But when accompanied by rain,
For better times, our hopes are vain.
It looks like a “Happy Year” for us!