EVERETT — With last week’s rain in the rear-view mirror, above average temperatures have returned for Snohomish County and western Washington.
The National Weather Service has issued a heat advisory from 11 a.m. Friday until 5 p.m. Tuesday evening for the much of the lowlands of western Snohomish County. For the next five days or more, temperatures are expected to range from the mid 80s to possibly the low 90s.
For people who live in Monroe, Granite Falls or Darrington, the weather service issued an extreme heat warning for daytime temperatures that could reach into the upper 90s.
“It’s above normal, for sure,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Kirby Cook on Thursday. “Typically, climatologically, our warmest period of the year is late July into the first two weeks of August.”
Temperatures in July across the state were above average, with the month rounding out to be the 12th warmest July since 1895, according to data from the University of Washington. July was also the fourth consecutive month of below average precipitation.
Saturday is expected to be the hottest day of the heat way in Everett, with a daytime possible high of 83 degrees and a nighttime low of 61. Sunday will also be warm, with a daytime high of 81 and low of 62.
On Friday, Darrington has a predicted high of 95 degrees, with temperatures possibly reaching 99 degrees on Saturday. Night time lows are expected to brush 60 degrees.
The National Weather Service is encouraging people to drink lots of fluids and avoid strenuous outside activities, warning that the temperatures will significantly increase the risk of heat-related illnesses for sensitive groups.
“When we don’t cool off enough overnight, it really amplifies the impacts of the really warm daytime temperatures,” Cook said. “When we get into these patterns, it really is important to pay attention to the forecast.”
For people without air conditioning, Cook recommends finding places that do to cool off, even for a few hours.
“Go see a movie, go to the mall or somewhere where you can cool off,” he said. “That can make a big difference.”
Snohomish County has a list of cooling centers at snohomish-county-public-safety-hub-snoco-gis.hub.arcgis.com/pages/cooling-centers. The website also gives tips on ways to stay cool and how to know the signs of heat-related illness.
Eliza Aronson: 425-339-3434; eliza.aronson@heraldnet.com; X: @ElizaAronson.
Eliza’s stories are supported by the Herald’s Environmental and Climate Reporting Fund.
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