This cool weather makes for a relaxing, peaceful summer interlude, especially when the afternoon high temperatures remain below 80 degrees. For the third time this month, Vancouver — as of 5 p.m. Saturday — had a high of only 78 degrees, some 6 degrees below average.
I say enjoy it while you can. We discussed in my last column that more 90-degree weather was coming this week, and that is still on track.
As of Saturday, forecast models keep us in the 90- to 95-degree range from Tuesday through Friday. The possibility of reaching 100 degrees has dropped greatly.
We have a tradeoff, however. A southerly flow aloft will move monsoonal moisture northward about mid-week and raise our humidity. So, if the afternoon high Thursday is 95 degrees, it may feel closer to 100.
Another possibility if this develops is that thunderstorms will move up the crest of the Cascades. We don’t need lightning, but thundershowers are acceptable. I’d even go for a good nocturnal storm with a downpour. Love that. Lose a little sleep, but enjoy the rumbling and rain pelting the rooftop and flowing through the downspouts.
Today is the last day of the Clark County Fair, and the weather will be ideal: not too hot, but mostly sunny with a gentle northwest breeze. On Saturday, it took until 2 or 3 p.m. for those low clouds to totally dissipate. That was the main factor keeping us in the 70s.
We have passed the dog days of summer; we had a beautiful full sturgeon moon. The crickets are singing, and I’m sure there is plenty of zucchini being passed around the neighborhood.
But if you look closely, there are signs of summer waning. The other morning, there was actually dew on the grass.
The vine maple is changing its wardrobe. The ants are running back and forth through the grass, busy storing winter supplies. Nature is beginning the autumn tasks ever so slowly. I still haven’t seen any grasshoppers playing their fiddles — only in my dreams.
OK, it’s late Saturday afternoon, and the sun is out. Back to my chair on the deck with my iced tea. Take good care, and we’ll chat together on Tuesday.
