A warm front is passing over the Columbia Basin during the day Sunday to bring some rain showers and warmer temperatures. Rain showers are also possible Monday around the region with the highest chance being in the mountains.
Look for breezy conditions with winds forecasted to get high enough on the Hanford Site and along the slopes of the Blue Mountains to warrant the National Weather Service issuing a wind advisory for those spots. Both advisories are in effect from 07:00-19:00 Monday.
HANFORD SITE
For the Hanford Site, south winds of 25-35 mph with gusts to 50 mph are possible. Despite the light rain showers, areas of blowing dust may reduce visibility to below a quarter of a mile at times with a risk of tumbleweed drifts blocking major roads such as SR 240 and SR 24. Driving may also be difficult in the Horse Heaven Hills, especially on west-east roads.
Breezy conditions with gusts to 35 mph are possible elsewhere around the Tri-Cities. While weather apps may have notified people throughout town for being in a wind advisory, the text of the advisory states that (as of this post) it is only for the Hanford Site. Details on why your weather app may have notified you even though you are not on the Hanford Site can be found in this article.
BLUE MOUNTAIN FOOTHILLS
Communities along the Blue Mountains, such as Walla Walla and Pendleton, are also expected to get strong winds on Monday. This is resulting from air rushing from strong high pressure in northern Utah and southern Idaho toward low pressure offshore.
South winds of 25-35 mph with gusts to 50 mph are possible with areas of blowing dust possibly reducing visibility at times in this area as well. Driving will likely be difficult in high profile vehicles on routes such as I-84 and OR-11. The downsloping wind may also be enough to increase temperatures adjacant to the mountains, but it will be too windy to go outside to enjoy it.
Information in this article is accurate as of 14:20 PDT Sunday. You can check updated model data by heading over to my Forecast Map page. The featured image shows wind advisories (brown) and a flood watch (green) and was taken from the National Weather Service.
