Air stagnation advisory issued for Tri-Cities. Also, cold temperature record broken

An air stagnation advisory has been issued for the Tri-Cities and much of the Mid-Columbia into Tuesday morning.

Because of limited air movement, pollution could increase, says the weather service.

Washington and Oregon air quality agencies recommend no outdoor burning during the air stagnation advisory. People with breathing sensitivities should be cautious about being outside during that time.

Residential wood burning also should be limited as much as possible, they say.

But it will be tempting to light a fire with the chilly temperatures.

October was the coldest on record in Richland, though Tri-City residents can expect a mild November, says the National Weather Service.

The temperature averaged about 48 degrees in Richland last month, beating the coldest previous average of nearly 49.6 degrees in 1969.

It was not a record for the Tri-Cities, however.

In October 1905 in Kennewick the temperature average almost 48 degrees, according to weather service records.

Other places that set cold weather records for the month included Yakima with almost 45 degrees and Spokane with just over 42.

At Hanford, it was the second coldest October on record.

The mean temperature at the Hanford Meterology Station was just over 48 degrees and the coldest mean temperature on record for the month was almost 48 in 1984.

November outlook

The weather service outlook for November calls for warmer than usual temperatures in the Tri-Cities.

Normal highs in the Tri-Cities in November fall from about 57 at the first of the month to 43 at the end of the month. Normal lows fall from about 37 degrees to 30.

Precipitation is expected to be near the normal of about 1 inch.

The coldest temperature of the month was 13 on Oct. 30 recorded at the Tri-Cities Airport in Pasco.

Warmer weather already is forecast for the Tri-Cities, with highs back in the 50s and lows slightly above freezing from Sunday through at least Wednesday.

Hanford records set

October was a month for the record books at Hanford.

The following daily temperature records were set or tied, including one for warm weather in the midst of an unusually cold month:

▪ On Oct. 1 the high was just 61, tying the cold weather record set in 1959.

▪ On Oct. 2 the low was 32, tying the cold weather record set in 1954.

▪ On Oct. 10 the low was 24, beating he previous cold weather record of 29 set in 2009.

▪ On Oct. 12 the low was 28, beating the previous cold weather record of 29 recorded most recently in 2009.

▪ On Oct. 25 the high reached 75, tying the previous warm weather record recorded most recently in 1955.

▪ On Oct. 29 the high was just 40 degrees, beating the previous cold weather record of 42 recorded most recently in 1991.

▪ On Oct. 30 the low as 15 degrees, beating the previous cold weather record of 16 set in 2002.

The month was drier than usual in the Tri-Cities, with Kennewick recording about 0.3 inch of rain, which is about half of normal.

The highest wind gust recorded in the Tri-Cities in October was 48 mph on Oct. 28. At the Hanford Meteorology Station the peak wind gust was 50 mph on the same date.

This story was originally published November 1, 2019 at 12:45 PM.