On-shore flows have wafted cooler air onto the North Olympic Peninsula and the weather is expected to remain pleasant for several days at least.
The on-shore flow also dissipated the smoke that cloaked the Peninsula on Thursday when a low-pressure system over British Columbia sent off-shore flows through the Frazier Valley, bringing both heat and smoke, according to meteorologist Mike McFarland at the National Weather Service in Seattle.
The smoke, which had lowered air quality to unhealthy levels, dispersed once the switch from off-shore to on-shore flow occurred, “since there are no fires burning over the Pacific Ocean,” McFarland quipped Saturday.
Although last week’s heat wave was nowhere near as intense as that the region suffered in late June, temperatures did rise to levels uncomfortable for Peninsula residents.
Sequim had the highest recorded temperature on Thursday at 94 degrees, one degree higher than Port Angeles’ high that day of 93. Port Townsend’s high was 90 on Thursday and Forks’ high was 87, McFarland said.
Temperatures began to fall in Friday with 86 in Sequim, 84 in Port Townsend , 81 in Forks and 80 in Port Angeles, he said.
On Saturday, the high as of 3 p.m. was recorded at 77 in Port Townsend, 75 in Sequim, 72 in Port Angeles and 68 in Forks.
“It’s going to be pretty nice for the next few days,” McFarland said.
Drizzle is possible today or Monday. Monday and Tuesday will remain relatively cool.
“The first half of the week looks great,” McFarland said.
Then, “it will warm up again but not to the kind of readings we’ve seen in last few days,” he said.
Elsewhere, heat advisories and warnings were in effect from the Midwest to the Northeast and mid-Atlantic through at least Friday, according to The Associated Press.
A death on Thursday in Portland, Ore., was thought to have been caused by excessive heat although that won’t be determined for several weeks.
Temperatures in Portland reached 103 on Thursday — 20 degrees above average. In Bellingham, the high hit 100 for the first time on record, while Seattle topped out in the 90s, AP said.
A detailed scientific analysis found the June heat was virtually impossible without human-caused climate change, AP said. Meteorologist Jeff Masters with Yale Climate Connections said a similar study would need to be done with other heat waves, but there’s a general link between global warming and worsening heat waves.
July became Earth’s hottest month in 142 years of record keeping, with the globe averaging 62.07 F, or 16.73 C, that month, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Friday.
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Executive Editor Leah Leach can be reached at 360-417-3530 or at lleach@peninsuladailynews.com.
