August 24, 2023

Smoke, Thunderstorms, and Heat

Last updated 2:00 PM, Thursday, August 24th, 2023 

By Joseph Renalds

Hey Huskies!

Tuesday night’s rain showers were a nice break from the heat and smokey conditions we have seen so far this month. Wednesday was nice too with mostly sunny skies and temperatures getting into the mid-70s. Though we will now be watching for some more eventful weather as we finish up this week and head into the weekend.

Firstly, there is a return of the smoke. You may have already noticed yesterday that the sun looked a bit red when it broke out around the clouds. This smoke started out aloft, but is not filtering down to the surface and the gross smell is returning with it. For now the HRRR model has the worst smoke being overnight tonight. This round of smoke should not be as detrimental to air quality as last weekend, but that could change if more fires start or current ones grow.

We will also be watching the chance of thunderstorms moving through western Washington on Friday. The Storm Prediction Center has placed most of Washington under the T-Storms category in their Day 2 Convective Outlook and the National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning for the Central Cascades.

Friday morning looks to be when the best chance for thunderstorms is in western Washington but this chance is higher in the mountains than the lowlands. The storms will be moving north from Oregon and getting close to Puget Sound around 7AM with the biggest question being whether they can hold together as they get closer to Seattle.

Temperatures will also be on the rise as high pressure develops to our east. This combined with a thermal trough making its way north along the coast will help push our temperatures into the mid-80s tomorrow and near 90 on Saturday and Sunday. Smoke can always knock those highs down a degree or two, but it looks to clear out somewhat for the weekend.

I hope you have a great rest of your week Huskies!

Reach forecaster Joseph Renalds at theuwdawgcast@uw.edu, on Twitter @TheUWDawgcast, or on Instagram @uwdawgcast.