The marine push of air Friday evening brought a dense low cloud cover locally, and instead of burning out early, it persisted into the afternoon hours Saturday. That kept us in the pleasant 70s for afternoon temperatures.
High pressure and winds from offshore will bring extremely dry air over us Monday through Wednesday, resulting in low humidity in the 10 to 20 percent range. Gusty winds 35 to 45 mph and warming temperatures will cause extreme fire conditions the first half of the week.
A fire weather watch was issued for much of Southwest Washington and most of Oregon for this unusual event. The winds through the Gorge will be quite strong, resembling a wintertime east wind episode. In contrast, a cold air mass is dropping along the Rockies, and some of that cold, dry air will work its way westward and down the Gorge.
As air flows downhill it compresses and heats up, so as the winds blow clear to the ocean beaches, they could see temperatures well into the 80s and low 90s if the pressure pattern works out as models are forecasting.
