NWS Portland updating how, where they issue weather alerts

On March 5, 2024, the National Weather Service office in Portland is issuing an update to the geography of their public forecast zones. These are the preset boundaries they use to issue a number of their weather alerts, including those for snow, freezing rain, wind, and fog. This update is for Portland’s county warning area […]

Continue Reading

How to read surface weather analysis maps

Surface weather analysis charts are a treasure trove of information about regional and continent-scale weather patterns. They are full of a variety of symbols that can give a good at-a-glance view of what conditions are occuring. Some regional and continental forecasts are also displayed as analysis charts. There are multiple organizations that create surface weather […]

Continue Reading

Excessive heat warning for weekend events including Water Follies and Watershed

The heat wave impacting the Pacific Northwest is forecast to continue into the weekend as a ridge of high pressure sits over the Western United States and Canada. The National Weather Service offices in both Pendleton and Spokane have extended their excessive heat warnings for their portions of the Columbia Basin to last until 23:00 Sunday. […]

Continue Reading

Excessive heat watch posted for the Tri-Cities next week

As we approach the coming heat wave, the National Weather Service in Pendleton has issued an excessive heat watch in effect from Tuesday morning to Friday evening. It is likely to be replaced by a warning in the next couple of days. The watch is for most lowland areas in Pendleton’s county warning area, including […]

Continue Reading

Big heat for the Columbia Basin next week

It won’t be as extreme as the 2021 Heat Dome, which brought new all-time records to many locations in the Pacific Northwest, but much of next week is likely to see highs above 100° in the Tri-Cities. An upper level ridge of high pressure is forecast to move into the Pacific Northwest from offshore starting […]

Continue Reading

UPDATED: Red Flag Warning for much of the Columbia Basin Friday

UPDATE (06:45 Friday) – The fire weather watch is now a Red Flag Warning in effect from 12:00 to 20:00 Friday. All other forecast information is still valid – see Thursday’s article below: Dry, warm, and breezy conditions have prompted the National Weather Service office in Pendleton to issue a Fire Weather Watch for the […]

Continue Reading

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 […]

Continue Reading

We need to close the Pacific Northwest Radar Gaps

Doppler radar is one of my favorite tools for viewing weather data. Its amazing to me that using radio waves, we can see light rain and snow, tornadoes, and fine details in hurricanes. Not only can we see where these are, but we can also estimate wind speeds, freezing levels, and hail sizes – all […]

Continue Reading

New partnership between Tri-Cities Weather and the NOAA

Ingalls Weather, along with this site’s associated Facebook page Tri-Cities Weather, has partnered with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration through their Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador™ program. We are excited about this partnership and look forward to working with the NOAA and the National Weather Service to help prepare our community for environmental (especially weather) hazards. WeatherTogether […]

Continue Reading

Why you should be a Storm Spotter, even in the Northwest

This post was written on April 9, 2018. With Spotter Training coming up again, here’s the list of sessions the NWS Pendleton is offering this year! Tri-Cities, April 10 6:00 PM, 651 Truman Ave (Richland) Webinar, April 24 6:00 PM, Registration details will be at this link John Day, April 25, 6:00 PM, Location TBD […]

Continue Reading