A daylong heat wave swept across Snohomish County on Monday, setting record highs for March across the Puget Sound region while sending people outdoors.
"It’s too lovely not to be down by the water," said Maureen Rivelle of Snohomish, who took time out of her afternoon to catch some rays on the Everett waterfront after lunching at a local restaurant.
She and pal Dora Jiles were being leisurely about their walk on a Port of Everett pier.
They were on the lookout for gray whales, but settled for watching a couple of ducks squabble over an apparently coveted spot on the pier. They also got scolded by a seagull that appeared upset at having a session of sun bathing interrupted.
Other sun worshippers could be seen buzzing around on all sizes of boats, practicing stunts on bikes, napping on park benches and flying kites next to a sign that said "No kite flying."
Even the swallows that migrate back to Camano Island each spring were seen flitting about, a sure sign that temperatures are on the rise.
By the end of the day, the temperature topped out at 78 degrees at Paine Field in Everett, a record high for March 29 and possibly a record for the month.
Arlington and Centralia were the state’s hotspots on Monday, both hitting 81 degrees. It’s unclear if the high temperature was a record for Arlington because the city’s records for March are apparently incomplete.
What is official is Sea-Tac International Airport topped out at 78 degrees, a record high for the day and the month, said Johnny Burg, a spokesman for the National Weather Service. Record highs for March were also set in Seattle, Olympia and Bellingham.
Rain was predicted to return last night, bringing with it highs in the mid- to upper-50s today and tomorrow, Burg said. Temperatures will edge back up and the skies will clear as the week goes on, he said. Temperatures should climb to the upper 60s by the weekend, which should be mostly sunny.
Monday’s warm weather proved to be too nice to resist for Larry Harris of Everett, who said he can’t remember having such a nice day this early in the year.
"It’s an exceptionally beautiful day," said Harris. The nice weather reminded him of growing up in the Midwest, where the occasional hot, sunny spring day was celebrated. "It couldn’t be better."
Harris used the balmy conditions to test his recently finished double-paddle canoe, a kayaklike boat that he spent more than a year building from scratch.
"It’s perfect," he said, returning to the Everett public boat launch after two hours on the water.
Harris marveled at the warm weather, saying he had never seen a day where warm winds have blown east off the land into the sound.
Meteorologist Dana Felton said the warm weather was a product of winds that blew down off the mountains, across the foothills and down to the coastline, gathering heat the entire way.
"When the winds go down slope, they heat up," he said.
Reporter Lukas Velush: 425-339-3449 or lvelush@heraldnet.com.
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