Hottest day of 2020!

SEATTLE - Summer certainly sizzled on Sunday with record breaking temperatures all over the Pacific Northwest. We set records in a number of cities and towns all across Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.

Along the I-5 corridor through Washington, most places saw temperatures soar to more than 20 degrees above the normal of 77 for this time of year. At SeaTac, the number to beat in the record books was 98 degrees set back in 1967. We managed to tie that Sunday evening. The intense heat fueled some quick moving thunderstorms across Western Washington with hundreds of lightning strikes. Being tinder dry, the concern is that these could end up starting wildfires. Sometimes these lightning strikes can smolder for two or three days before they ignite. So, if you're hiking keep an eye out for smoke and report it to authorities.

This was our 3rd day of 90 or warmer so far in 2020. A typical summer has 4 of those kind of hot days. This was our 30th day of 80 or warmer at SeaTac Int'l, our climate data point of reference. Usually we only see about two dozen of those kind of warm days every year. Last year we only saw 30 days of 80+ temps-- but this year we're not done yet.

On shore flow returns to the region starting Monday. Each day we'll see a marine push bringing cooler air into Puget Sound. That will help ramp down our temps towards the normal high temp, which ticks down this week to 76 degrees. A weak front moving through late Thursday could even bring a few summer showers. Don't expect much rain, as August is our second driest month of the year.

We will cool things down starting Monday, but not to below 80. Many places will still be in the mid to low 80s with some brief morning clouds that will evaporate for blue skies in the afternoon. The coast could hang onto those clouds longer with temps likely getting into the 70s instead of the 80s we had on Sunday. East of the Cascades it will remain very hot with more thunderstorms possible.