Weather Eye: Fourth of July will be hot and dry

If you like basking in 90-degree temperatures, then you will enjoy the next four days or so. It will be a hot Fourth of July, so factor that in, and with extremely rapid drying, be careful with fireworks. I see the grass is already brown along the roadways, so I would expect some grass fires

With offshore winds by Friday, things will really dry out as humidity drops into the teens. The National Weather Service Forecast Office in Portland issued a heat advisory for the local area. For those of you who prefer the "normal" summer weather of the Pacific Northwest, rest assured that cooler marine air will push inland after several hot days.

Meanwhile, if you desire to escape the heat, head for the ocean beaches where it will be much cooler and probably require a sweatshirt, as brisk north to northwest winds will be howling.

OK, I mentioned in Tuesday's column about when the first report of ripe tomatoes will be. I immediately had a reply Tuesday from weather observer Ellen Smart of Ridgefield. She was also the one who picked the last tomato of the season last year. She writes in part, "We are going to pick our first ripe tomato today and eat it for lunch. The plant was started from seed by my mother and we have four plants producing tiny tomatoes: orange, black, red, and tinier red. The orange is the first; I hesitate to call it an orange cherry tomato, because that doesn't quite seem right. Now, if you meant the first ripe BIG tomato, that comes a little later!"

Happy Fourth, everyone!

Pat Timm is a local weather specialist. His column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Reach him at weathersystems.com.