This Spring will go down as the third driest on record for the Tri-Cities as dry conditions continue to plague much of the American West. A total of 0.31 inches of rain was observed during the months of March, April, and May (meteorological spring). Tri-Cities Driest Springs Rank Year Precipitation 1 1964 0.06″ 2 1900 […]
Heat advisory for the Columbia Basin extended to Thursday
Early Monday morning, the National Weather Service issued a heat advisory for the Columbia Basin. That advisory will still start at 11:00 Tuesday but now extends to 20:00 Thursday. It includes the Tri-Cities, Yakima, Walla Walla, Hermiston, and surrounding areas. FORECAST This heatwave comes just in time for the start of meteorological summer, which begins […]
Tri-Cities drier and warmer in updated NOAA weather averages being released
When discussing weather, there is a lot of comparison to “average” or “normal” conditions in a given place. These represent an expected temperature, precipitation, or other value averaged over a 30-year period for stations around the world. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), parent agency of the National Weather Service (NWS), calculates these averages […]
New high temperature records Thursday as heat wave continues
On Thursday afternoon, the Tri-Cities Airport reached 110° for the first time in five years, but it didn’t stop there. Preliminary data from the National Weather Service shows the airport in Pasco reached a high of 111°, solidly beating the old record for July 30 which was 107° set in 2003. The Tri-Cities aren’t the […]
Highs around 110° for the Columbia Basin
High pressure will remain in place over the region through Friday. This coupled with southerly flow thanks to a deepening low in the Pacific will amplify already hot temperatures in the Inland Northwest, prompting the National Weather Service to issue an excessive heat warning for the Tri-Cities and surrounding areas. This warning goes into effect […]
Mostly sunny skies to end the work week, breezy conditions possible this weekend
A ridge of high pressure in place over the region is providing pleasant weather conditions for the second half of this week. Wednesday will probably be the day with the most clouds. This is thanks to northwest flow aloft, sending some high clouds streaming across the region. Some light rain showers associated with this pattern […]
Drought conditions develop in Columbia Basin despite healthy snowfall in the mountains
Recent snowfall in Washington’s mountains has brought the amount of snow up there to near-normal values for this time of year. Some of this snow even caused the record-setting flood event seen Walla Walla and Pendleton earlier this month, but this winter’s storms have not been quite as generous in the Columbia Basin and Yakima […]
Breezy conditions Saturday with gusts to 40 mph
A cold front will move across the Pacific Northwest tonight, bringing a chance of rain showers. After it passes, we should see clearing skies here in the Tri-Cities and slightly cooler temperatures, but the biggest impact from this will be the wind. Winds are expected to increase somewhat as the front approaches the Columbia Basin […]
Above-average temperatures expected through the weekend
The average high for the start of January is right around 40°, with the low being about 28°. We can expect high temperatures to slowly decrease toward Sunday, starting off in the mid-50s and ending in the upper-40s. Lows will remain fairly steady in the mid- to upper-30s. This is thanks to repeated systems impacting […]
Let’s talk about dust devils
Earlier this week, I was hiking up Candy Mountain with my wife. As we were headed up the slope, I noticed a lot of dust being lifted off a construction site on Kennedy Road. There had been occasional gusts, so at first I thought this was just a strong one, but a within a few […]