Air quality issues continue, rain and chilly pattern by mid-week
The smoke continues to drift over the region from the Little Lava fire in Deschutes County. This has been an ongoing smoke producer for the past several days and this week is no exception. The air quality in Bend and Sunriver has been unhealthy and the unfavorable southwest and west flow of wind transports the smoke across the 97 highway and will continue today and tonight. The numerous fires in the Bachelor Complex are also a bit part of the AQ issues as well. Another fire that continues to push out smoke is the Rain Ridge. The northwest corner of the fire is still hot and is still generating smoke in Wheeler County.
The above normal pattern continues to be part of the forecast for at least one more day. Highs will be in the 70s once again Tuesday before a major drop in temperatures occurs Wednesday. Clouds will lower and thicken through the day Tuesday ahead of some rain that is expected overnight into Wednesday. There may be some high level snow, with little accumulation due to the warm ground, but the rest of the region will see a chilly rain.
Rain will be off and on Wednesday in Central Oregon with the afternoon high temperatures only hitting the upper 50s. The rain will be light, but should help with the air quality issues we have been plagued by for some time.
Overnight into Thursday you may want to break out the ice scraper as the wet windshield from the rain earlier on Wednesday may ice up early Thursday. The chance for a bit of a wintry mix of rain and snow is decent early Thursday so the commute may be a bit slick. Expect to see mountain snow early, with little to no accumulation, along with pockets of fog near sunrise Thursday. Highs only top out near or below 50 Thursday, so make sure to dig into the closet to retrieve the winter coats.
Temperatures return to the 60s in time for the weekend. Showers may also return on Sunday.
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