Historic heat wave washes over the Pacific Northwest

Historic heat wave starts Friday afternoon

Western Washington is expected to see the highest temperatures ever recorded this weekend.

SEATTLE - Happy Friday! Yesterday a warm day with highs in the low 80s. 83 at SeaTac. Today we turn up the heat again.

This morning most locations reporting only party cloudy skies and mild temps. Puget Sound lowlands will be several degrees warmer than yesterday with most of us getting to near 90. Tomorrow we will start our ascent into the really hot weather by the weekend. Friday looks to be up in the 85 to 90° range. The NWS has issued an Excessive Heat Warning which we are under until Monday evening. The Q13 weather team has issued Weather Alert Days for Sat/Sun/Mon.

This period will have some of the hottest temps of the year as the mercury goes into the 95 to 100° range each afternoon. Seattle metro has only achieved triple digit temperature readings 2 other times since record-keeping began in 1894. Now it could happen two days in a row!

For a region unaccustomed to such heat and only about 44% of homes with AC, this will be a dangerously hot stretch of weather. Normal for this part of June is 73. Overnight lows will be uncomfortably warm as well, like near 70° for most of us around Puget Sound. Normal lows are around 53. Abnormally strong ridge of high pressure will bake the region for several days in a row -- the east winds wont be as much of a factor with this heat wave so it could be bit mugger than our normal temperature spikes.

This weather pattern does not include any precipitation for the foreseeable future either so fire risk will increase. Today is our 11th dry day in a row already. Our water temperatures will remain very cold for individuals looking to beat the heat. And as you can see on the 7-day-- every single day in the next week has above normal temperatures.

Puget sound water temperatures remain in the low 50s, Lake Washington has warmed to only 70 so far, and some of our snowpack fed rivers will be only in the upper 40s/low 50s. Practicing fire and water safety will help save lives.

Good luck with the heat wave! I'll miss the NW dearly -- but I'm heading out to town this weekend to move back home to my hometown of Chicago, where it's rainy with temps in the low 70s at the moment. It's been a blast being a part of the Q13 team. Thanks to all of you out there who've been friends, fans and followers. Much love and light! -Tim Joyce

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