Bellingham temperatures likely to stay above normal into next week; air quality dips in some areas

Robert Mittendorf
·1 min read

Unseasonably warm, dry weather is expected across Whatcom County through this weekend and for several days after that as a high-pressure system lingers over Western Washington, sending temperatures into the upper 80s and possibly low 90s.

That’s 15 to 20 degrees warmer than normal for early July.

Bellingham is under a heat advisory until Monday night, and significant cooling isn’t expected until Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service in Seattle.

Heat risk levels were in the “moderate” to “major” range across the state, according to the weather service’s latest online briefing.

“Increasing dry and unstable conditions for this weekend has warranted the issuance of a Fire Weather Watch for the Cascades. These conditions could also extend into Monday and Tuesday,” meteorologist Dana Felton said Friday during the online forecast discussion.

Nearly 20 outside fires, vegetation fires and building fires were reported Thursday in Whatcom County, according to the Pulse Point emergency services app.

Air quality has declined in parts of Whatcom County because of airborne particulates, with sensor stations around Ferndale, Lynden and Kendall reporting “moderate” levels, according to the Northwest Clean Air Agency website.

Officials with the Whatcom County Division of Emergency Management blamed holiday pyrotechnics.

“Residual smoke from Fourth of July fireworks will reduce air quality indexes Friday morning before improving throughout the day as smoke mixes out,” the agency said in an email.

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