Freeze warning issued for Tri-Cities on the heels of unusually warm weekend

The Tri-Cities area is under a freeze warning until 9 a.m. today after a crazy couple of days of spring weather.

Highs reached an unseasonably warm 87 degrees Sunday at the Tri-Cities Airport, but clear skies and lighter winds meant temperatures were expected to fall below freezing in most of the Mid-Columbia early Tuesday morning, according to the National Weather Service forecast.

The Tri-Cities area was expected to escape the worst of the cold, with lows most likely 34 degrees Tuesday morning, but possibly a few degrees lower.

The Washington State University AgWeatherNet told orchard owners that some fruit trees needed protection overnight Monday.

Gusty northerly winds early Monday morning downed some power lines in north Richland, leading to a power outage that was expected to last all day in the mostly industrial area, according to the city of Richland.

The weather service reported a peak gust of 46 mph at the Pasco airport and gusts of 37 mph at the Richland airport at about midnight. Blowing dust also was reported.

Horn Rapids Road was closed for a time between Stevens Drive and Kingsgate Way on Monday.

The Horn Rapids Landfill was expected to be closed all day Monday, and farm and residential irrigation was not available in the area.

Classes at the Hanford nuclear reservation site’s HAMMER training center were canceled until power is restored, and Hanford workers were warned to allow for longer commute times if they typically use Horn Rapids Road.

Tri-Cities forecast

The 87 degrees recorded at Pasco on Sunday, while unusually warm, was not a record breaker. The temperature reached 95 degrees in Pasco on April 18, 1910.

Normal highs are about 67 in the Tri-Cities in mid April and normal lows are about 41 degrees.

Temperatures dropped sharply on Monday after the warm Sunday, but the rest of the week should be warmer.

A high of 72 degrees was forecast for the Tri-Cities on Tuesday, rising to as high as 78 degrees on Thursday.

The low Tuesday night is forecast at 37 degrees, with the low as warm 47 degrees Thursday night and 51 degrees Friday night.

This story was originally published April 19, 2021 at 11:13 AM.