Update on NW heat wave: Hottest days of the summer expected this week
The hottest day of the Tri-Cities summer could come next week, breaking one or more daily high temperature records.
The National Weather Service has increased its excessive heat watch to an excessive heat warning for Monday morning through Thursday evening for most of Central and Eastern Washington, including the Tri-Cities.
Sunday a high of 97 is forecast in the Tri-Cities, but by Monday the high is expected to hit 102 and highs could stay above 100 for four days straight.
The hottest day of the week will be Tuesday with a high of 106, followed by a high of 105 on Wednesday and a high of 104 on Thursday, according to the weather service forecast.
But the Weather Channel predicts hotter weather, forecasting a high of 109 Tuesday and highs of 108 Wednesday and Thursday in the Tri-Cities.
The record high in the Tri-Cities for Aug. 15, a Tuesday this year, is a high of 104, recorded in 2021. The record high for Aug. 16 is 106 set in 1942 and the record high for Aug. 17 is 110 set in 1977. Daily records are based on data that goes back more than 100 years for most dates.
The hottest Tri-Cities days so far this summer have been July 15 and 20, when the high reached 104, according to weather service data.
“Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun and check up on relatives and neighbors,” says the weather service in its excessive heat warning.
Overnight temperatures will provide only limited cooling, making the heat wave more dangerous.
Lows of 70 to 73 are forecast from Monday night through Thursday night, according to the weather service.
Normal highs for the third week of August are about 91 and normal lows are about 56, according to the weather service.
Usually the hottest temperatures of the year for the Tri-Cities are in July.
In the previous three years, highs reached more than 110 on at least one day of the summer, including a high of 115 in 2021.
This story was originally published August 11, 2023 at 4:35 PM.