Get ready for more heat and haze. Highs well into the 100s coming for Tri-Cities

A smoky, hazy sky is forecast for early in the week in the Tri-Cities followed by a return to heat well into the triple digits to wrap up July, according to the National Weather Service.

Highs are forecast to reach 96 to 97 degrees through Wednesday, already higher than the normal average high for July in the Tri-Cities of about 90.

By Thursday temperatures should climb more than 10 degrees above the normal average high, with a high of 101 forecast for Thursday, 103 for Friday and 104 for Saturday.

Forecast highs are the center of a range and temperatures could be a few degrees hotter or cooler.

The Weather Channel is forecasting hotter weather, with a high of 108 on Friday.

Slight cooling is expected for Sunday with a weather service prediction of a high of 98 in the Tri-Cities.

The Weather Channel, which provides a two-week forecast, predicts highs for the first week of August to mostly be in the high 90s.

This week the sky will be hazy with smoke through Wednesday night in the Tri-Cities area, according to the weather service. But if the smoke stays high enough the impacts on air quality could be low.

The smoke forecast for the Washington Department of Ecology shows air quality deteriorating to no worse than moderate in the Tri-Cities on Tuesday, with no forecast yet available for Wednesday.

Light breezes are forecast mostly from the southwest, where fires are burning in Oregon.

This story was originally published July 26, 2021 at 10:37 AM.