The weather will change back to very hot weather later this week, but currently it's cooler than normal with a few scattered showers. The chance of light rain is low east of the Cascades, but we may see a few on and off showers overnight. Cloud cover and a chance for rain will help keep temperatures in check today as temperatures will likely be in the upper 70s or lower 80s. For now, cooler weather and light rain will benefit firefighting efforts in the area.
Central Oregon will have another cool day on Tuesday with showers in the early morning, but then skies will clear. The below normal pattern we have experienced over the past few days will transition into a hotter pattern mid-week and into the weekend.
Highs will once again reach the 90s on Wednesday as hot and dry conditions continue for several more days. On Thursday, as high pressure returns, mercury levels in thermometers will rise near or above 100 in many locations. Fire danger remains high and will increase as we move into the upper 90s.
Today, air quality is again in the unhealthy range due to smoke from fires in the western part of the region. There are several wildfires burning atop the Cascade Mountains near Blue River and Oak Ridge, which are important smoke generators. They may seem small compared to the megafires to our east, but they are still serious and dangerous. Wet rain is expected to help fight fires in the area, but not as much as the area is very dry.
The fire continues to spread in the east, not as fast, but still spreading. Winds today will generally be from the west and northwest, hopefully preventing smoke from catastrophic fires from blowing eastward.
We're in the middle of fire season and mid-summer, so even though the weather is a little cooler now, we still have a long way to go.
be safe
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