Warm summer weather on pause for brief stretch of cooler temperatures

Ready for some cooler summer weather? Well, here it is. After many Western interior temperatures well into the 80s last week, this week will involve temperatures ranging from the mid-60s into the 70s thanks to the flow of cooler air from the Pacific Ocean.

Weak upper-level low pressure over the region early this week and again late in the week will also support the cooler summer weather conditions. Will it rain though? The only risk of showers will be in the Northern Cascades early this week along with a threat of thunderstorms, and again late this week.

This weather pattern will result in a morning marine cloud, afternoon clearing regime this week. Tuesday will likely be the coolest day with the marine clouds persisting through much of the day.

More MyNorthwest weather: Hazy skies seen in South King County as wildfire smoke elevated from nearby fires

Witnessing the Perseids meteor stream

The peak of the Perseids meteor stream is early this week. Earth’s rotation around the sun carries the planet through the Perseids each year during the period of about July 17 through August 24, peaking in mid-August.

Skies should remain clear enough to see the Perseids after sundown. The near half-moon will set around midnight, providing dark skies until dawn, ideal for watching the Perseids before the marine clouds return.

No special equipment is needed. Just find a wide-open sky and even better, away from city lights. Perseid meteors will start to be seen hitting the planet’s atmosphere in the mid-to-late evening hours, peaking toward dawn.

In a dark sky, you may see up to 100 meteors per hour. Hang in there for at least an hour since the meteors tend to come in surges interspersed with lulls.

The Perseid meteors are traced to the constellation Perseus, in honor of Perseus the Hero. In ancient Greek star lore, Perseus is the son of the god Zeus and the mortal Danaë. The Perseid shower commemorates the time when Zeus visited Danaë, the mother of Perseus, in a shower of gold. Quite the love story!

There is no threat of the meteors reaching the earth’s surface. The meteors are quite small and burn up about 60 miles above the Earth’s surface, leaving wonderful streaks of light across the night sky. Enjoy this annual show of the Northern Hemisphere’s most popular meteor event – the Perseid meteor shower.

Dog days of summer

We are now in what is often called the “dog days” of August. This centuries-old phrase goes back to varied stories from the ancient Greeks, Egyptians and Romans. The phrase is tied to the rise of Sirius, by far the brightest start that follows Orion into the night sky.

Also called the Dog Star, Sirius rises in the night sky in mid-July and is most prominent during August. These early civilizations blamed Sirius for the heat of the season. The Dog Star Sirius is 8.7 light years away from Earth and has no impact on Earth’s weather or temperature. Yet, those early civilizations saw the rise of the Dog Star and the hottest weather of the year as a cause and effect.

This week’s weather will continue the current stretch of warm dry weather felt in July. Tuesday will be the coolest day though with western interior highs reaching only the 70s after a morning of more extensive marine clouds.

Otherwise, this week will have plenty of sunshine with high temperatures mainly in the 80s. Shoreline locations like the islands in the North Sound should feel more comfortable in the 70s, while Cascade foothill locations and south of Olympia could crack the 90-degree mark. Low temperatures will range from the mid-50s to the mid-60s.

More from Ted Buehner: Dog days of summer have arrived in Washington

Strong high pressure aloft extending north from the four corners of the desert southwest to Eastern Washington is driving the ongoing warm dry weather.

Western Washington is surrounded by wildfires up north in Western Canada, in the east in Eastern Washington and Idaho, and to the south in Oregon, Nevada and California. Fortunately, nature’s air conditioning of cooler Pacific Ocean air moving inland with onshore flow is helping to keep wildfire smoke out of Western Washington, maintaining good air quality while also moderating temperatures from being even warmer.

Later this week, a threat of thunderstorms will arise over the northern half of the Washington Cascades that could produce additional lightning and the potential for more fire starts.

The latest weather outlook extending into the third week of August maintains the ongoing warmer-than-average temperatures, bolstering the sense of the dog days of August.

Ted Buehner is the KIRO Newsradio meteorologist. You can read more of Ted’s stories here and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter.