Hot weather, wildfire smoke, rain on tap over next few days in western WA

The Puget Sound region is in for another hot day Tuesday.

Meteorologist Ted Buehner said much of western Washington is under a heat advisory until 10 p.m. Tuesday.

“The only areas that aren’t are basically out on the coast and up in the Strait of Juan de Fuca,” Buehner explained. “Temperatures are going to be getting close to 90 degrees in the Seattle area. As you get closer to the south sound and down toward Portland, now you’re getting well into the 90s.”

He said the region didn’t receive much relief on Sunday or Monday night due to unusually warm low temperatures.

“The low temperature at SeaTac only got down to 69 (Sunday),” Buehner revealed. “That was the warmest low temperature on record for the date. The previous record was 66, set in 1981. And this coming night it’s probably going to be very similar.”

Taking precautions with severe heat

He warned that severe heat can be dangerous.

“Heat like this is kind of a silent killer,” Buehner said. “Remember back in June of 2021, we had the heat dome here.”

Temperatures in Seattle reached triple digits for three days in a row in 2021, topping out at 108 degrees on June 28. The Washington State Department of Health reported that from June 26 to July 2, 2021, there were 100 heat-related deaths.

A study led by a University of Washington (UW) professor concluded that the heat also contributed to multiple accidents, such as drownings, during that time period.

Even though temperatures are not expected to reach the triple digits before the latest heat advisory is over, Buehner suggested taking precautions, such as cutting down on outdoor activities during the hottest part of the day, staying hydrated, and seeking out air conditioning.

“If you can find air conditioning for just a few hours, that really relieves the stress on your body,” Buuehner said.

Public Health – Seattle and King County offers more tips on its website.

Western WA forecast: Heat will lift Tuesday night

Buehner said the heat will start to lift Tuesday night.

“The hot air over western Washington is going to move east of the Cascades,” he explained. “We get a lovely — I call it nature’s air conditioning — with cooler air coming in from the Pacific Ocean.”

These winds might also bring in some smoke from the Bear Gulch wildfire, which is burning near Lake Cushman.

“When we start to see the onshore flow of the cooler air coming in, some of that smoke will probably get over to the rest of the Puget Sound area, but it should come in and get out pretty quickly because we’ll start to see the marine clouds on Wednesday morning,” Buehner said.

He added that daytime temperatures are expected to drop back to the 70s mid-week, “and then, this weekend, we may even have a chance for some reasonable amount of rain.”

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