Cool Finish

The remainder of August is trending much cooler than the past several days, to the relief for many.  Let’s refill our Mugs and look ahead.

Cooler air is pushing into the PNW, setting up a pleasant weekend to be outdoors.  Strong westerly wind in the Columbia Gorge today.  Temps around the region will warm a few degrees by Sunday, with a diminishing westerly wind.

🌀 There is much talk in the news about the potential for remnants of an eastern Pacific hurricane - named HILARY - to bring excessive rainfall to portions of southern CA & NV, along with an outside chance for some precip into the eastern basins of the PNW, along with ID.  Currently, HILARY is a Cat 4 storm.  It will weaken as it makes landfall at some point in northern Baja or San Diego region, before bringing along huge mid-level amounts of moisture into the SW US.  Inches of rain & flash flooding possible in southern CA & NV.  It is unusual for a tropical storm to strike southern CA - if the system reaches the San Diego area with winds over 35 mph, it will be the first in over 8 decades to do so (Sept 1939). 

Back to the PNW.  Next week will start out with some clouds and possible HILARY-sourced showers/thunderstorms across the eastern basins.  Most of the week will be seasonally pleasant.  Some marine clouds possible Fri, as a weak trough of cooler air shifts south, just off the OR coast during the last weekend of August.  Currently, this trough charts too weak to usher in showers, but coastal drizzle and a marine cloud deck that burns off in the afternoons is possible through the Aug 26,27 weekend.  On the cool side of summer, for sure.

The last week of August is trending DAMP early on, with scattered showers, esp forming over eastern OR, WA and ID.  On/off cloudiness for much of the west side through mid-week. Thu looks sunny, warmer for all the PNW.  Furthermore, another Baja hurricane is charted to form that week, with heavy impact on Cabo, but no renewed flooding threat to northern Baja or southern CA, as the system will move west and fade out by Thu. 

Labor Day weekend is just coming into view on the charts - trending cooler, with partial cloudiness for the Puget Sound; plenty of sunshine elsewhere.