Cooler pattern settles in, unhealthy air quality remains, showers arrive late Wednesday

The heat is no longer impacting the region as a much cooler pattern sets up. There will be cooler air arriving around an area of low pressure passing by to the north. The location of the low has tapped into the chilly air in Canada and is cycling it south to Oregon. The highs over the next several days will be below normal, reaching the upper 70s and low 80s. Our normal high temperature for mid-August is around 84.

There will be another low arriving from the eastern Pacific Thursday and will linger into the weekend. This will allow for some moisture to be pushed into the Beaver State and provide some light rain and isolated storms. The cloud cover and the chance for rain will keep the region cooler than usual, but the threat of isolated lightning is not welcomed as more wildfires may get started.

The air quality is expected to improve slightly as the week moves along, but not yet. The AQI (air quality index) for Central Oregon is expected to be in the slightly unhealthy to unhealthy range again Wednesday. The rain will assist in the scouring out of problem particles, but not enough rain is forecast to really do the job.

We are effectively surrounded by wildfires, and as the flow of air shifts, the winds grab the smoke from a variety of fires. That smoke is transported to Central Oregon. This will continue, but the brief rain showers will help, just not as much as we would like.

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