Poor air quality, cooler, and some late week rain possible
As we close out the last few days of summer 2023 and transition to Autumn, the weather will work in concert with the calendar. The hot days of the weekend will be behind us this week, and we can look forward to temperature readings well below normal. Of note, over the weekend we tied the record high on the 16th of 93 in Bend.
The cooler air flow will be a result of a cold front pushing through the region and clearing Oregon by late this evening. There will be a noticeable uptick in the wind as the front passes so there is a Red Flag Warning north of the viewing area, but close enough for us to be concerned about fire danger locally.
The Petes Lake Fire is now over 3000 acres and has not containment. The fire fighting efforts have been more in line with establishing break points vs. lines of containment, so the acreage growth is to be expected. The smoke from that fire is migrating east, and our air quality is suffering. An Air Quality Alert is in place for Deschutes and Crook Counties until late Wednesday as a result.
There is the talk of some rain as we close out the work week, so we will keep an eye on the models, the low-level dryness and the potential for some high elevation snow by Thursday or Friday. Low chances of precipitation, but not zero.
Officially, this is the last official week of the Astronomical Summer as the Autumnal Equinox will occur on the 22nd of September just before midnight local time.
Stay safe.
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