Smoke AND sun? This doesn’t look like autumn…

Happy first full day of autumn!

Someone forgot to get the memo…

Summer is ignoring the notice to vacate and is set to bring Seattle a day more in line with July or August — sunny skies and highs in the mid-upper 70s. It’s a nice bonus day for sun and summer fans who have to know those days are numbered. But apparently that “number” remains more than zero.

Unfortunately, the easterly winds bringing the late season warmth are also bringing along an unwanted sidekick: More wildfire smoke.

Fires continue to burn in the Cascades and Central Washington, bringing terrible air quality over there.  Air quality levels range from “Very Unhealthy” to downright “Hazardous” around Leavenworth and down in Entiat, with terrible air quality in Wenatchee too.

The east winds are blowing the gunk Tuesday over and through the Cascades.  Smoke models suggest some of the smoke will make it over into our side of the Cascades, with orange “unhealthy for sensitive group” (USG) levels of smoke in Snoqualmie and the foothills Tuesday morning. We expect the smoke to make it into the I-5 corridor through the day.

The Washington Dept. of Ecology expects air quality to degrade into moderate or the “USG” levels, so I know the sunshine and mid-upper 70s is tempting to get outside but those sensitive to air quality may need to sit this one out and stay indoors today.  I know Facebook can be a bit variable in when you see this  feed so this is probably outdated advice, but if you’re itching to get outside, go as early as you can Tuesday.

Wednesday looks a little better with marine winds kicking up later in the day that should give us a gap of still-sunny and relatively warm weather but start to clear the smoke back off to the east (sorry, Eastern Washington…)

WHERE IS OUR RAIN?

Getting the rainy season going has been like a car that’s had trouble starting*. The long range models have been keeping a promised rainy pattern at arm’s length, seemingly forever 7-10 days out (snow fans know the feeling…)

(*-non electric edition)

It does look like some showers return to the forecast this weekend — some rain but not looking like a lot. My “Wishcast” post from a few days ago is looking like just that: A wish.  (We may have to enlist whoever helped the Mariners. I wonder if they dabble in weather?)

Seattle’s really stormy season doesn’t usually start until about the third week of October so we still aren’t quite there on the calendar to really quash the fires. But maybe we can borrow a little SoDo Mojo to get some rain in here sooner. We could ask for a “big dumper” of rain storm