Tri-Cities temps are soaring into the 80s for 1st time this year. Beware of the rivers

Saturday the Tri-Cities should get a taste of the summer to come.

The National Weather Service forecasts a high of 87, but that’s the center of a range that can be 2 to 3 degrees warmer or cooler.

The unusually hot day for late April could be a harbinger of the summer ahead, which the weather service says may be hotter and drier than usual in southeast Washington.

All of Washington state and Oregon are likely to have a warmer June through August that usual, it says.

Indications also are that those months could be drier than usual across south Washington and north Oregon, but it is less sure of that prediction.

Temperatures since the start of 2023 have averaged colder than usual in the Tri-Cities. They averaged about 2.2 degrees below normal in March and 2.5 degrees below normal so far in April, according to weather service data.

Spring has been slower to warm up than usual in the Tri-Cities, said weather service meteorologist Joe Solomon.

Temperatures had reached the 70s on just two days this month before Tuesday.

But by the end of the week, highs of 81 on Friday, 86 on Saturday and 80 on Sunday are forecast.

Saturday should be about 30 degrees warmer than the coolest day in the last week.

Normal highs for the end of April are 72 degrees.

Highs should be down to about normal again on Monday, when a Tri-Cities high of 69 is forecast.

Heat means cold, high rivers

The hot weather Saturday likely will draw many Tri-Cities area residents to the Columbia River for water fun.

But the weather service warns that the river water will be much slower to warm up than the air temperature.

Loss of muscle control can happen quickly, even for experienced swimmers, in its cold, snow-fed and fast-moving water in April, it said. Life vests are recommended.

Smaller rivers and creeks also will be rising with melting snowpack. The weather service is not expecting flooding in the Mid-Columbia but is keeping a close eye on water levels that could change.

The Yakima River at Kiona, the site of the closest gauge to the Tri-Cities, was at 5.4 feet deep Tuesday morning. It was expected to rise to 9.7 feet over the next seven days.

That’s well below flood stage of 13 feet and also below 11 feet, the action stage at which people along the river are advised to use caution and take actions, such as moving livestock out of low-lying areas along the river.

The snowpack in the East Cascade Mountains, which will feed the Yakima River to supply water to the Kennewick Irrigation District was at 97% of normal as of early April.

The U.S. drought monitor shows no drought now in Benton or Franklin counties as the area has slowly recovered over the last 18 months from the worst rating possible.

In 2021, Franklin County was rated as being in extreme drought and Benton County was rated as being partly in extreme drought and partly as exceptional drought, the worst rating possible.

This story was originally published April 25, 2023 at 4:44 PM.