September Tri-City temperatures could break warming trend

September could break the trend of warmer than normal weather for the Tri-Cities as the month gets off to a cool start, says the National Weather Service.

It is predicting temperatures to be near normal for the month.

Normal highs for the Tri-Cities fall from 85 at the start of the month to 74 at the end of the month. Normal lows fall from 57 to 47 degrees.

The Labor Day weekend forecast calls for highs of about 75 to 78, with highs continuing to be in the 70s through at least Thursday.

August was another warmer than usual month, in the Tri-Cities and at Hanford.

Of the past 30 months at Hanford, just three have been cooler than usual, according to data collected at the Hanford Meteorology Station. Daily temperature records there are complete back to 1944.

One temperature record was set at Hanford in August, according to the Hanford Meteorological Service.

The low of 73 on Aug. 18 was the warmest on record for the date. The previous record was 71, recorded most recently in 2010.

In the Tri-Cities, temperatures averaged 76.3 in August, which was 1.2 degrees above normal. High temperatures averaged 90.7, which was 1.4 degrees above normal.

The temperature failed to reach 100 in August, according to data collected by the weather service in Kennewick. The warmest day was July 19 with a high of 99.

At the Hanford Met Station, temperatures averaged 77, which was 1.2 degrees above normal.

On six days temperatures reached at least 100, compared to a normal of five days for August.

For the year, there have been 16 days with temperatures of at least 100, compared to a normal year through August of 13 days.

June through August were warmer than usual at Hanford, averaging 75.2, or 1 degree above normal, at the meteorology station there.

Only a trace of rain fell at Hanford for the month, and no precipitation was recorded in the Tri-Cities. Normal precipitation in August for both is 0.18 inch.

September precipitation in the Tri-Cities is expected to be less than the usual 0.3 inch, according to the weather service.

During the summer months, 0.65 inch of precipitation was recorded at the Hanford Met station, which is 75 percent of normal.

Precipitation for the year in the Tri-Cities has totaled 5.54 inches, which is 0.84 inch above normal.

The peak wind gust for the Tri-Cities, according to data collected in Kennewick in August, was 39 mph Aug. 27. At the Hanford Met Station, it was 39 mph Aug. 5.

This story was originally published September 3, 2016 at 4:07 PM with the headline "September Tri-City temperatures could break warming trend."