Weather & Climate

A firefighter from Serbia directs his colleagues during a wildfire at Kamaria village on Evia island, about 189 kilometers (114 miles) north of Athens, Greece, Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2021.

‘We fought a great battle’: Greece defends wildfire response

August 10, 2021, 8:42am Nation & World

A massive wildfire burning for days on the northern tip of Greece’s second largest island continued to devour forests Tuesday, its thick smoke hanging in the streets of a nearby town as hundreds of firefighters battled to save what they could. Read story

An exposed dry bed is seen at Lake Mendocino near Ukiah, Calif., Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2021. Tourists flock to the picturesque coastal town of Mendocino for its Victorian homes and cliff trails, but visitors this summer will also find public portable toilets and dozens of signs on picket fences announcing the quaint Northern California hamlet: "Severe Drought Please conserve water." The town of Mendocino gets some of their water from the reservoir, but most of the lake water goes to Sonoma County.

Dry California tourist town to guests: ‘Please conserve’

August 10, 2021, 8:08am Business

Tourists flock by the thousands to the coastal town of Mendocino for its Victorian homes and cliff trails, but visitors this summer are also finding public portable toilets and signs on picket fences pleading: “Severe Drought. Please conserve water.” Read story

Tropical storm watches issued for Caribbean islands

August 9, 2021, 8:41pm Nation & World

Tropical storm watches were issued for various Caribbean islands Monday evening for what could soon become the sixth named tropical storm of this year’s Atlantic hurricane season. Read story

Deer wander among homes and vehicles destroyed by the Dixie Fire in the Greenville community of Plumas County, Calif., Friday, Aug. 6, 2021.

Aircraft help fight California wildfire as smoke clears

August 9, 2021, 3:50pm Latest News

Thick smoke that held down winds and temperatures in the zone of the largest single wildfire in California history cleared Monday from scenic forestlands, allowing firefighting aircraft to rejoin the battle to contain the massive Dixie Fire. Read story

Cheyanne Peters, 6, splashes water toward her mom while giggling on Friday, June 25, 2021, at the Esther Short Water Feature. Temperatures are expected to climb into the triple digits for the next three days.

Triple-digit temps expected in Clark County again starting Wednesday

August 9, 2021, 1:55pm Clark County News Free

Vancouver is facing rising temperatures later this week, prompting the National Weather Service to issue an Excessive Heat Watch that starts Wednesday afternoon and continues through Saturday. The warning is especially important for vulnerable populations and those spending time outdoors. Read story

Are smoky summer skies the ‘new normal’ in Clark County?

A sailboat makes its way past the railroad bridge in Vancouver through the smoke on Sept. 10, 2020. Smoke events in Vancouver tend to be weather-dependent, occurring when east winds bring smoke from elsewhere in the state to the western half.

August 8, 2021, 6:05am Clark County News Subscriber Exclusive

Last summer’s weeklong “smoke storm” was a game-changer for residents of Western Washington and Oregon. A thick layer of hazardous smog blanketed the region, and Portland briefly laid claim to the dubious mantle of having the worst air quality of any major city in the world. Read story

Weather Eye: Vancouver’s dry streak officially ends at 51 days

Patrick Timm is a local weather specialist. His column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.

The rainfall Friday wasn’t all that much here in the lowlands but enough to officially end our 51-day dry streak. Vancouver officially recorded .02 of an inch at Pearson airfield. Higher amounts fell along our coastline and in our nearby foothills. Phil Delany measured nearly a third of an inch… Read story

Wildfire explodes to third-largest in California history

Homes and cars destroyed by the Dixie Fire line central Greenville on Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021, in Plumas County, Calif.

August 6, 2021, 8:35am Latest News

A wildfire raging in Northern California exploded in size overnight, becoming the third-largest wildfire in state history amid high temperatures and strong winds. Better weather conditions were expected to aid the firefight on Friday. Read story

Northwest heat wave targeted vulnerable, tested climate prep

Karen Colby listens on July 22, 2021 in Portland, Ore., while her neighbor Joel Aslin tells how he called an ambulance for her when she got heat stroke as temperatures reached 107 F in her small fifth-floor studio apartment during a record-breaking heat wave in June. The unprecedented heat, which reached 116 F in Portland, killed dozens of people in Oregon and hundreds across the region and was a wake-up call for the normally cool region as climate change accelerates.

August 5, 2021, 3:08pm Latest News

Karen Colby thought she could make it through an unprecedented Pacific Northwest heat wave with a little help from her neighbor, who dribbled cold water on her head and visited every hour to wrap frozen towels around her neck. Read story