By Gordon McCraw, Meteorologist for the Tillamook County Pioneer
After a couple of rather nice days over the weekend, things started changing today, and now we can expect some sunny, dry, and smoky days ahead thanks to a building high pressure ridge over the area causing some easterly winds that will push the hot and smoky air towards the west. The only caveat is the smoke. There is a slight chance that it could push the high temperatures down a few degrees, but it will still be hot. So, after a sunny and breezy day today that started warming up, tonight we see that smoke blowing in with the winds becoming northeasterly 8-12, the low near 59.
Tomorrow looks sunny, smoky, and hotter, with northerly winds 5-10, the high climbs to near 86. Then look for a mostly clear skies night, with light northeasterly winds, the low only drops to near 62.
Wednesday looks to be another sunny and hot day with the strong ridge of high pressure still over the area. The afternoon winds are relatively light from the north, that high again climbs to near 84.
Things start to moderate Thursday as an upper level trough of low pressure moves across. This will bring cooler temperatures with the afternoon high only up around 73. We also see the beginning of improving smoke conditions as the winds become more westerly across the region. Thursday night looks partly cloudy, with the low around 57.
The cooling trend continues Friday thanks to the westerly winds, the afternoon high temperature is only around 71 degrees, and with the mostly clear nighttime skies still, the low drops to near 56 degrees.
The onshore flow strengthens over the weekend so Saturday we see a few clouds, mainly in the morning, the high near 69, then the marine layer moves in Saturday night, the low near 55.
Sunday becomes sunny again in the afternoon, the high near 67, the clouds return that night, the low back down to near 55.
Now, before I go, I should mention a few things, first, there is a Heat Advisory that covers much of the valley, but includes the Coast Range as well. They are expecting the temperatures in those areas to climb to near 95, maybe even up to or near the triple digits. This advisory is valid from noon Tuesday through 11pm Wednesday. There are also a few areas in the Valley, including through the Gorge and the southern end of the valley, that are under a Red Flag Warning due to the very hot and dry conditions combining with the increased winds and very dry fuels, causing some conditions that could lead to rapid fire development. I would say these conditions are present to some degree in Tillamook County as well, especially in the grassy area along the beaches, so extra care should be observed all through the area. Lastly, there will likely be some Air Quality issues for the next few days, especially over in the valley, so you may want to keep an eye on that as well.
And that’s it for this week, try to stay cool, drink plenty of fluids, and check on you relatives and neighbors for any heat related issues. With that, I’ll see ya next week.
