Voice of the Mid-Columbia | Kennewick, Pasco and Richland, Wash. |
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closeFriday, Jul. 03, 2009
Here comes the heat: Weather watchers predict triple digits for July Fourth
By Annette Cary, Herald staff writer
Get out the sunscreen and swimsuits.
The temperature should hit 100 on the Fourth of July for the first time this summer in the Tri-Cities.
A wave of warm air is moving across the state that should bring the high to just under 100 today under sunny skies in the Tri-Cities. After the temperature climbs to 100 on Saturday, it should cool a few degrees Sunday for a high of about 97. The weekend could end with thundershowers Sunday evening.
Even if you're traveling to Seattle for the holiday, you can expect sunny skies for most of the weekend. For Portland, the National Weather Service has issued a heat advisory with temperatures expected in the 90s there today and Saturday.
With the hot weather comes higher fire danger and the risk of heat exhaustion and heat stroke, warns the Washington State Department of Health.
It advises basic precautions, such as never leaving pets or children in a parked vehicle and drinking lots of fluids -- and that doesn't mean those with alcohol, caffeine or lots of sugar.
Save the most strenuous outdoor fun for early or late in the day at least until you build up tolerance for warmer temperatures, it advises.
The month is off to a hot start with temperatures in the Tri-Cities reaching 96 degrees Thursday at the Pasco airport and 97 at the Richland airport, according to the weather service.
It's predicting normal temperatures for the month of July, but possibly more sunshine than usual. Precipitation is likely to be less than the normal of 0.25 inches for the month, according to the National Weather Service's monthly outlook for the Tri-Cities.
The normal high for the Tri-Cities in July is 90 degrees and the normal low is 59.8.
June was warmer and drier than usual in the Tri-Cities, according to the National Weather Service. However, no record highs were set at Hanford, according to the long-term data kept by the Hanford Meteorological Station.
The average temperature in the Tri-Cities last month was 71.5 degrees, which was 3.1 degrees above normal. Low temperatures averaged 58.9 degrees, which was 4.3 degrees above normal.
The highest temperature of the month for the Tri-Cities was 97 on June 25. It was one of three days on which the temperature rose above 90, according to the National Weather Service.
At Hanford, the highest temperature of the month was 96 degrees on June 24. On five days the temperature was hotter than 90.
Precipitation for the month in the Tri-Cities was just 0.01 inches, which is 0.39 inches below normal. Precipitation for the year in the Tri-Cities has reached 4.35 inches, which is 0.24 inches above normal, according to the National Weather Service.
The peak wind gust in June in the Tri-Cities was 39 mph on June 4. At Hanford a gust of 43 mph was recorded June 17.
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