A major shift in the weather this week will bring Clark County its warmest days of the year so far amid summer-like conditions.
The big warm-up will push temperatures well into the 80s by midweek, even threatening a record in Vancouver on Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.
After highs in the mid-70s Tuesday, temperatures could hit 84 degrees in Vancouver on Wednesday, according to the weather service. Thursday looks even warmer, with an expected high of 87. The record-high temperature for that date is 84 degrees, set in 1998.
The reason: a large ridge of high pressure expected to settle over the Northwest, said Jeremiah Pyle, a meteorologist with the weather service in Portland. “A nice, warm ridge, and it’s going to be stationary for several days,” Pyle said.
That’s a far cry from the region’s recent run of cool, showery weather — not unusual for this time of year. This week’s warm spell could push temperatures to about 20 degrees above normal.
Still, cracking the 80-degree barrier for the first time in late April wouldn’t be that far off the norm. On average, Vancouver sees its first 80-degree day of the year on May 4, Pyle said.
But this week’s dose of toasty weather will be fleeting. Conditions will cool down starting Friday. By this weekend, it’s back to mid-60s and possible rain, according to the weather service.
Rainfall above normal
Vancouver likely won’t see much, if any, additional rainfall in April, but the month will continue a streak of wetter-than-usual totals. The city had recorded 3.14 inches of rain in April as of Monday; normal for the month is a hair more than 3 inches, according to the weather service. February and March also saw above-normal precipitation numbers.
The wet streak followed an unusually dry November, December and January.
Vancouver typically receives about 2.5 inches of rain in May, according to the weather service.
