Mostly sunny & above average, some lingering smoke Thursday

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) - A ridge of high pressure is building over the Pacific Northwest, bringing warmer than normal temperatures into next week.

Prescribed burn smoke is impacting air quality in parts of Deschutes County again this morning. Some may want to hold off on outdoor plans until AQI levels improve.

Expect mostly sunny skies today, with afternoon highs rising into the 60s and 70s. The normal high for this time of year is in the low 60s, so we’ll be well above average.

Friday brings a slight warm up, with highs in the upper 70s and increasing clouds late. Overnight lows will stay above freezing over the next few days.

Warm temperatures stick around this weekend, with highs in the upper 70s to low 80s.

A system off the coast may bring a few more clouds Saturday, with a slight chance of a shower or storm, but that’s more likely to stay south of Central Oregon. Sunday will feature a mix of clouds and sunshine.

We’re tracking another chance for some rain on Monday, but it looks pretty isolated. Temperatures stay warm, in the mid to upper 70s for the first few days of May.

The month ahead is off to a warm start, giving us a nice preview of summer-like temperatures.

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