Weather Eye: Forecast continues to improve for day of total solar eclipse

The weather forecast for the eclipse Monday continues to improve, with mainly clear skies forecast that morning. There could be patchy low clouds from, say, Woodland north, but they would be brief. We will update that projection on Sunday.

From reading news in the media, it sure sounds like there will be a multitude of people heading our way for the big event. Everyone is watching the weather. Although not 100 percent totality in Clark County, it still should be a good show. The coast will most likely have some morning clouds.

The overall outlook calls for pleasant weather with highs around 80 degrees through Monday, mid-80s Tuesday and then back near 80 degrees. How perfect is that setup? Some models show some instability in the atmosphere next week, so thunderstorms may creep northward from California beyond Monday.

As of 5 p.m. Monday, Vancouver topped out at 84 degrees, the warmest I could find in Western Washington. East of the Cascades, it was in the mid-80s to mid-90s. Pretty typical summer day in the Pacific Northwest.

According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, the 40 days of the dog days of summer came to a close Aug. 11. Today is the last dog day of summer as referenced by an early edition of the Book of Common Prayer of the Church of England. I think I like Merriam-Webster’s definition of the dog days of summer, which states, “The period between early July and early September when the hot sultry weather of summer usually occurs in the northern hemisphere.” We have certainly had many of those days this summer so far.

Even though we have a few weeks of summer left, one can feel the seasons beginning to change, fog in the valleys and earlier sunsets. More dew on the grass, crickets chirping, birds and people busy plucking wild blackberries. And spiders actively building their webs larger and larger each day.

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

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