Heat in Western Whatcom County, Washington

A warm stretch of weather affected Western Whatcom County towards the middle of August, high temperatures consistently reached the mid to upper 80s for much of the duration of the heat stretch, however, temperatures soared to 100 degrees at the Bellingham Airport on August 12, setting a new record. Low temperatures during the event remained right around 60.

A strong upper level ridge of high pressure began to build into the region around August 11, remaining in place through August 13 before pushing eastward. As the upper level ridge influence increased over the region, the lower level flow turned easterly, creating a downsloping effect across much of Western Washington. As a result of this setup, very warm temperatures were forecast for most of the area, with 850mb temperatures expected to peak near 25C during the heart of the event, with surface temperatures ranging from the mid 80s to near 100 and low temperatures during the overnight period ranging from the mid 60s to low 70s.

Excessive Heat Watch was issued on August 8, several days prior to the event, valid for all included zones beginning 12PM on Wednesday August 11 and continuing for some zones through Friday August 13 at 8PM and others Saturday August 14 at 7PM. The Watch was upgraded to a warning during the afternoon of August 10.

Fire weather was also a concern during the event, along with air quality impacts from smoke, however, no major impacts were noted during the period of unusually warm weather.