Weather Eye: Dry May winds down as dry-looking June looms

This holiday weekend was certainly made to order weather-wise as strong high pressure reigns in the atmosphere. From the coast to the Cascades and beyond, sunny, blue skies and summer-like breezes were the mainstay.

Even the coast was clear, with afternoon temperatures Saturday in the 60s, although stiff north winds added a bit of wind chill. But a sweatshirt on the beach is normal attire.

Locally, Vancouver resided in the 70s most of the day Saturday. As of 4 p.m., we had reached 80 degrees and still had some daylight to go. Today, we’ll inch up a few more degrees into the mid-80s; on Memorial Day, we’ll reach the upper 80s.

Our first 90-degree high may hold off until Tuesday before we begin to cool down again.

I see no rain this week. Computer forecast models say we have a risk of a shower on Thursday, but I’ll ignore that this far out.

Looking at Vancouver’s rain gage this month, we have measured only 1.04 inches, which is an inch and a half below average. I don’t need to tell you it has been dry. I also know some of you had much more rain than that due to its showery nature. It will be interesting when we review May’s rainfall from around the area.

I didn’t go through all the records, but this Memorial Day weekend was shaping up to be the warmest in 25 or 30 years. What did you do to take advantage of the perfect holiday weather?

I saw numerous warnings of water safety as folks tend to flock to rivers and lakes when it is warm. The water, however, is in the 50s, which is a shock to the body; people can get into trouble. Snowmelt keeps rivers draining from the mountains quite chilly.

Next week, marine air will filter inland and cool us off, with possible morning cloudiness. For sure, the coast will be socked in for a while.

As May ends on a dry note, June comes in looking drier than average, too. I don’t see any soakers heading our way. Keep those young plants in the garden well watered.

Happy Memorial Day.

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