The Tri-Cities are about to cool down — but likely not for long

Expect another warmer than usual month in the Tri-Cities.

September started out with above-normal temperatures, which should continue through Saturday with highs around 90.

But the National Weather Service says temps were going to start dropping Friday.

And by Sunday through Tuesday, the highs will be in the upper 70s.

Also, a 50 to 60 percent chance of rain is forecast Saturday night through Sunday morning.

Despite a few chillier days, weather forecasters expect temperatures to average higher than the usual for September in the Tri-Cities.

Normal highs drop from about 85 at the first of the month to about 73 at the end. Lows typically drop from about 55 to about 45.

Both Accuweather and the National Weather Service are predicting above-normal temperatures in the Pacific Northwest for the fall months.

Fire danger in Benton County remains rated as “very high,” says the Benton County fire marshal.

Summer rain record set

Precipitation in the Tri-Cities this month is expected to be near normal for the month, which is about 0.3 inch.

The summer that just ended was the wettest on record at Hanford, which has data collected since World War II.

The Hanford Meteorology Station recorded just over 3 inches of precipitation, more than three times the normal of 0.92 inch.

The previous wettest summer was in 1950, with 2.99 inches of precipitation.

August was warmer than usual in the Tri-Cities and at Hanford, where one daily temperature record was set.

On Aug. 11, the temperature at the meteorology station got to only 77 degrees, the coldest high on record.

It was a dramatic drop from the high of 106 four days earlier at Hanford. The old record for Aug. 11 was 79 set in 1983.

The Tri-Cities didn’t get quite that hot.

The warmest temperature in town in August was 103, recorded in Kennewick on Aug. 8 and in Pasco on Aug. 7. It was the hottest temperature of the summer, according to weather service data.

Temperatures for the summer months of June through August at Hanford were slightly warmer than normal.

The peak wind gust for August was 43 mph in the Tri-Cities on Aug. 21 and 48 mph at the Hanford meteorology station on the same day.

This story was originally published September 6, 2019 at 11:54 AM.