Weather Eye: Get ready to see an April day with a high temperature in the 80s

Shower activity Sunday evening and Monday was definitely on the light side considering the recent past. A few brief downpours but not much in rainfall accumulation.

That’s behind us now as strong high pressure builds over us bringing record high temperatures Wednesday and Thursday, and maybe Friday. I said the other day that highs in the 80s were rare in April, so this will be a new experience for many residents. Offshore winds down the Gorge and warm air aloft will help push the mercury into the 80s.

Our normal high is 60 degrees, but we will be above that into the weekend. If we surpass these record highs, we will have new records. The April 6 record is 82 degrees (in 1906). For April 7, it’s 80 degrees (1996), and for April 8, it’s 78 degrees (1926).

See a pattern? For those days, the record occurred in a year ending in the number six, as is 2016. Interesting.

Vancouver’s earliest high temperature in April of 80 degrees or higher was April 2, 1944, with a high of 80.

The outlook for April calls for warmer than average and drier than average. Is your mouth watering for those luscious local strawberries? The end of May and first of June will be here before you know it. I know much of the farmland is gone to urban housing, but still there will be some local strawberries, my favorite.

It looks like the weather may indeed be on our side this year, with ample ground moisture to start things off. So get the lawn furniture cleaned and ready, fire up the barbecue, wear the shades and enjoy a brief interlude of July-type weather.

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

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