Coming in the middle of fall, Halloween has historically been a mixed bag for the Columbia Basin. Most weather conditions (except extreme heat) are possible this time of year – my dad even remembers a bit of snow one Halloween growing up in Finley. For Halloween 2022, trick or treaters and their parental entourage should […]
Elevated fire danger to kick off the end of the heatwave
The heat wave is forecast to slowly come to an end over the next couple of days but fire danger will increase as it makes its way out. This has prompted the National Weather Service to issue a Red Flag Warning in effect from 12:00 Monday to 21:00 Tuesday for the combination of low humidity […]
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 […]
Wind advisory for the Columbia Basin Tuesday afternoon
Rain showers were observed in the Columbia Basin early Tuesday as a disturbance passed through the Pacific Northwest. Most of the lowland precipitation has ended, though some showers remain possible into the daytime hours with the highest chance of these being along the Blue Mountains and northeast toward Ritzville. A few rumbles of thunder are […]
Wind advisory for Hanford and Blue Mountain Foothills Monday
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 […]
Low pressure in Saskatchewan, high pressure over the Pacific, breezy for the Tri-Cities Saturday
An active weather pattern is expected to continue into the weekend. The Inland Northwest isn’t likely to see much in the way of precipitation as a ridge of high pressure off the Pacific Northwest puses weather systems up into Alaska and down the east side of the Rocky Mountains, dropping most of their moisture before […]
Record highs in the Columbia Basin Wednesday, fire weather watch Friday with cool down expected
The Tri-Cities Airport observed its first 100 degree reading Wednesday afternoon thanks to this early June heatwave, leading to a new record. The preliminary high temperature was 104°, beating the old record of 103° set in 1986. A heat advisory remains in effect for the Columbia Basin until 20:00 Thursday with upper 90s likely for […]
Is Easter in the Tri-Cities usually windy and cool?
This blog post is a response to the following question, which I received over on my Facebook page – Tri-Cities Weather: Mark, I remember all the Easters here in the Tri Cities as being WINDY and COOL. Never weather good enough to dress up nice for Easter Sunday. Is my memory faulty or is it […]
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 […]
Sunday’s wind storm in review
Sunday’s wind storm certainly lived up to expectations and in some cases even exceeded them. As usual, Rattlesnake Mountain brought home the prize for highest wind gust – 82 mph. People rarely go up there, though, so what about in the lowlands? Helix, which is north of Pendleton, recorded a gust of 74 mph. This […]