Northwest cooldown underway for some, on hold for others
By
Ryan Adamson, AccuWeather meteorologist
Published Aug 19, 2020 10:37 AM EDT
During "unbearable" temperatures this bear took a dip the Liang Family pool on Aug. 18 in Arcadia, California.
After extreme heat in the Northwest this past weekend, temperatures have returned back closer to normal this week. For example, Seattle endured a high temperature of 98 degrees Fahrenheit on Sunday, the highest temperature observed in the city since a 103-degree reading on July 29, 2009.
On Tuesday, the mercury topped out at a much more seasonable 81 degrees, still 5 degrees above the typical high of 76 F. Despite similar readings on Wednesday and Thursday, temperatures will lower further along the coast on Friday.
"A much-needed break from the heat has already arrived across the Pacific Northwest, and places like Seattle and Portland, Oregon, could even have temperatures dipping a few degrees below average by Friday," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Renee Duff.
In Portland, the normal high for this time of year is 81 degrees, but the forecast is for a temperature of 77 to end the week. In addition to the lower temperatures, it may not be completely dry either.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
"A storm system bringing clouds and a few showers to these cities late in the week will help to keep temperatures in check," Duff added.
Farther inland, the mercury will not climb quite as high as the record-challenging levels of recent days, as that will become restricted to the Southwest portion of the country. However, it will still be hot and the change is not expected to be nearly as dramatic as locations near the coast.
Near the edge of the cool air and ongoing hot air, a few storms can become robust during the late-day and evening hours into the end of the week.
"Those hoping for a reprieve from the heat farther inland, however, will be out of luck," Duff mentioned. "While temperatures will not be near record territory, highs in the 90s are likely to stick around into next week for places such as Boise, Idaho and Billings, Montana," said Duff.
This will be due to the position of the jet stream. With the jet still fairly far to the north, any cooler air masses will be restricted to the far northern tier of the United States and southern Canada.
It will likely take until at least the middle of next week before the jet stream becomes more zonal, which is when the jet stream is generally oriented in a west-to-east fashion. This may finally allow somewhat cooler air from the Pacific to push farther inland.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo
News / Weather Forecasts
Northwest cooldown underway for some, on hold for others
By Ryan Adamson, AccuWeather meteorologist
Published Aug 19, 2020 10:37 AM EDT
During "unbearable" temperatures this bear took a dip the Liang Family pool on Aug. 18 in Arcadia, California.
After extreme heat in the Northwest this past weekend, temperatures have returned back closer to normal this week. For example, Seattle endured a high temperature of 98 degrees Fahrenheit on Sunday, the highest temperature observed in the city since a 103-degree reading on July 29, 2009.
On Tuesday, the mercury topped out at a much more seasonable 81 degrees, still 5 degrees above the typical high of 76 F. Despite similar readings on Wednesday and Thursday, temperatures will lower further along the coast on Friday.
"A much-needed break from the heat has already arrived across the Pacific Northwest, and places like Seattle and Portland, Oregon, could even have temperatures dipping a few degrees below average by Friday," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Renee Duff.
In Portland, the normal high for this time of year is 81 degrees, but the forecast is for a temperature of 77 to end the week. In addition to the lower temperatures, it may not be completely dry either.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
"A storm system bringing clouds and a few showers to these cities late in the week will help to keep temperatures in check," Duff added.
Farther inland, the mercury will not climb quite as high as the record-challenging levels of recent days, as that will become restricted to the Southwest portion of the country. However, it will still be hot and the change is not expected to be nearly as dramatic as locations near the coast.
Near the edge of the cool air and ongoing hot air, a few storms can become robust during the late-day and evening hours into the end of the week.
"Those hoping for a reprieve from the heat farther inland, however, will be out of luck," Duff mentioned. "While temperatures will not be near record territory, highs in the 90s are likely to stick around into next week for places such as Boise, Idaho and Billings, Montana," said Duff.
Related:
This will be due to the position of the jet stream. With the jet still fairly far to the north, any cooler air masses will be restricted to the far northern tier of the United States and southern Canada.
It will likely take until at least the middle of next week before the jet stream becomes more zonal, which is when the jet stream is generally oriented in a west-to-east fashion. This may finally allow somewhat cooler air from the Pacific to push farther inland.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo