Hot week ahead with scattered storms Tuesday and Wednesday

Bend, Ore (KTVZ) – The heat is on as we move into the middle of July. Highs this week will top out over 90 each day as warmer than normal air arrives from the south. Clouds are present in eastern Oregon as well as a few showers as monsoonal moisture rides around the western edge of the massive high- pressure dome over the middle of the country.

The impacts of the “heat dome” are impressive as there are a variety of features related to this ridge.

The heat is coming into Oregon, especially east of the Cascades, and will continue through at least the weekend.  There is the moisture being advected or moving into Oregon around the western edge of the dome. This moisture is part of the seasonal shift in the winds across the desert southwest known as the “monsoon” which brings in precipitable moisture from the Gulf of Mexico. These features are working in concert with each other to provide the heat and storms we should see Tuesday and Wednesday. 

In addition to the high in the center of the country, a low well off the coast will slowly move toward the coast this week and also provide us with some rain.  The slow movement of this feature is related to the lack of movement of the dome. I expect to see showers arrive over the Cascades by Wednesday.

If you notice, we are not the focus of the rain. The monsoonal moisture will be more of an eastern Oregon event and the moisture from the low off the coast will mainly impact the NW quadrant of Oregon.

Our end result is that we will be hot this week with highs in the low 90s each day. There will be a chance for isolated storms to percolate in the afternoon heat late Tuesday and linger some on Wednesday. The mountains will see some light rain north of Santiam Pass while there may be a few showers in western Jefferson County Thursday.

Also, there are two areas where smoke is being generated by wildfires in Oregon at the moment. One is a complex of storms in Grant County that includes the Salmon and Olive Butte fires and another one, the Anthony Fire in Baker and Union counties. The smoke is expected to stay clear of Central Oregon. The other fire ins the Evans Creek fire in SW Oregon in Jackson County. This fire is very smoky and Central Oregon may see some smoke from this event Tuesday and Wednesday as the winds will be pushing the smoke toward our region.

A lot of things are happening around us this week, I will stay alert for any shifts in the overall pattern for you. A change in any of these larger features will change our pattern as well.

Please, Stay safe and smart.

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