Windy and chilly pattern today after the record heat Tuesday

Bend, Ore (KTVZ) – Gusty winds will continue today and tonight as we dry out from the mountain rain and high elevation wintry mix last night. The winds will be generally from the west, so robust crosswinds may cause some issues on North/South roadways like 97. The windy weather is also associated with much cooler air, dropping from a high of 90 in Bend Tuesday to the 60s today.

Tuesday saw two records tied, Bend hit 90, tying the record set in 1924 and Redmond hit 88 tying the record set in 1988.

The windy pattern is expected to linger for the rest of the work week, just not as robust. The breezy weather will shake pollen free in a number of locations so I will keep an eye on the pollen count.

Another concern from the storms last night is the potential for new fire starts. There were hundreds of lighting strikes, mainly cloud to cloud, but some to the ground, and the dry conditions prior to the strikes may allow a fire to spark. The fire doesn’t have to appear instantly, often times the fire will stay smoldering under wet mulch-like piles before getting enough oxygen to ignite. This may take a few days, so I will also be monitoring the Alertwest fire cameras for any smoke.

Highs Thursday will return to the 70s as a ridge of high pressure tries to nudge north. This will not make much progress and a cooler pattern returns Friday and over the weekend. Skies will be mostly clear Thursday and Friday ahead of cloudy conditions on Saturday.

Saturday will also see mountain precipitation off and on which may be a mix of rain and snow. The high desert is not expected to get any rain as the mountains will squeeze out most of the moisture, but I do anticipate mostly cloudy and chilly conditions. Highs Saturday will be in the middle 50s.

Warming a few degrees Sunday to the upper 50s will be followed by upper 60s on Monday under variably cloudy skies. Tuesday and Wednesday see the return of the 70s.

Please, Stay safe.

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