Guest post by Meteorologist Michael Fagin of West Coast Weather
Our favorite meteorologist, Michael Fagin, has good news for this holiday weekend. Whether you’re on the fence about attending Bumbershoot in Seattle, checking out the Washington State Fair in Puyallup or just having some people over for a barbecue, the weather, and even the smoke we’ve endured lately are in your favor.
Here’s what Michael predicts:
Labor Day Weekend is usually the end of summer vacation and the conclusion of temps in the upper 80’s and low 90’s the Seattle area enjoys in August.
The good news is that this upcoming weekend will bring daytime temperatures close to the seasonal normal of 74. High temperatures for Seattle should be in the 70 to 75 range for Saturday through Monday. There’s a slight chance of drizzle Saturday morning but that is mainly for north of Seattle (near Everett). Then, on Monday a chance of some light morning showers, but afternoon should be dry. The best day will be Sunday, which will be dry and mostly sunny in the afternoon
What About Smoke?
Perhaps a more important question is what will the air quality be like? We have had some extended periods of poor, unhealthy air quality this August. One reason is the smoke moving into our region from the extensive wildfires on the West Coast.
Along with all those fires, the Seattle area had periods of northeast winds that brought in smoke and even some ash from the fires in Eastern Washington. The combination of that with a strong high pressure and poor air mixing, resulted in record poor air quality for the Seattle area.
The good news is we should have good air quality this weekend. Check out this website for more details and the green colors mean “good air quality.”
However, with all the wildfires in the area, we might have some very brief periods of limited smoke moving in. Mostly, the air quality should remain in the good to moderate levels.