Saturday was our 10th consecutive day with a high of 80 degrees or better. That streak will likely end today; an upper-level low pressure was forecast to drop down the British Columbia coastline.
There were some terrific thunderstorms Friday and Saturday in the Puget Sound region, with some good downpours, hail and numerous lightning strikes.
Clark County received just scattered clouds with warm temperatures. There was a 30 percent chance a thunderstorm could drift over as I write this Saturday afternoon.
The National Weather Service is developing a network of alerts for wireless phones. If your phone can receive them, free, automatic texts will be sent to warn you of immediate danger at your location.
For more information, go to http://nws.noaa.gov/com/weatherreadynation/wea.html
So how are we doing weather-wise for the first two weeks of the month? Quite delightful in my book, but here are the statistics. The average mean temperature is 68.2 degrees, about one degree above average. Precipitation through 5 p.m. Saturday is only 0.06 of an inch, about 0.4 of an inch below average. Temperature extremes range from a high of 88 degrees July 8 to a cool 47 degrees July 4 — which, by the way was the last day we saw a high in the 70s.
The outlook this week is a mixed bag with a chance of showers, some clouds, some sun, with highs between 70 and 85 degrees. We will have to watch this next low pressure slipping down upon us — pesky blips on the weather radar!
Patrick Timm is a local weather specialist. His column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Reach him at http://weathersystems.com.
