Heat wave persists as Spokane air quality drops

Spokane’s heatwave may top out just shy of the triple-digit temperatures that forecasters were calling for earlier this week.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the National Weather Service was calling for highs of 98 to 99 degrees on Thursday and Friday in Spokane.

Coeur d’Alene may see 94 degrees on Thursday and Friday and then low 90s on Saturday and Sunday.

Bryce Williams, forecaster for the National Weather Service in Spokane, said there is no indication that the heatwave will come to an end any time soon.

However, high temperatures in Spokane should drop to around 92 to 94 on Saturday and Sunday.

“It looks to keep hanging on,” he said of the heat wave.

Highs in the middle 90s are expected on Monday through Wednesday.

“We haven’t seen any strong signal of a pattern change” after Wednesday, he said.

Air quality drops

Air quality in Spokane deteriorated Wednesday as wildfire smoke arrived on northerly and easterly winds.

The Colbert monitoring site registered 103 Wednesday morning on the air quality index. That put the pollution in the unhealthy category for people with health conditions such as lung and heart disease.

Air quality improved to the moderately polluted category by Wednesday afternoon but was creeping higher by late afternoon.

The air quality forecast for Thursday is expected at levels unhealthy for sensitive groups.

Orange sunrises and sunsets go along with the smoke.

Smoke concentrations are likely to be thickest during morning hours, forecasters said.

An air quality alert was issued by the weather service for all of Eastern Washington and North Idaho. The National Weather Service is calling for patchy areas of wildfire smoke through Saturday across the region.

Wildfires in western Montana were sending smoke to the east on Tuesday, but the air flow reversed on Wednesday so that the smoke was drifting over the Idaho Panhandle and Eastern Washington on Wednesday.

In addition, smoke from fires in British Columbia and north-central Washington was drifting southward into the region.

The Diamond Creek Fire in the Okanogan and Wenatchee areas was up to 7,000 acres early Wednesday.

The Noisy Creek Fire was covering 1,800 acres near Sullivan Lake.

Tools to beat the heat

The region’s retailers are doing good business selling air conditioners.

Bruce Barany, owner at the General Store at 2424 N. Division St., said he is moving a backlog of air conditioners that he has held for two years.

He is also selling a lot of 20-inch floor fans.

Inner tubes to float the region’s waterways are the hottest item right now. At least 1,200 of the tubes have gone out the door this summer, he said.

“It’s super popular,” he said of river running.

At Fred’s Appliance, the newer portable air conditioners have become a popular purchase.

They are more convenient to set up rather than the traditional window-mounted variety, said salesman Rob Deitz.

Prices for air conditioners run from $129 to $400 depending on size and cooling power.

A small home can remain cool with a larger unit of about 12,000 BTUs of cooling power.

Fred’s Appliance on North Monroe Street has sold a dozen air conditioners this week while the store at Sprague Avenue and University Road sold nine portable air conditioners.

The salesmen at Fred’s said it’s smart to run an air conditioner at night to help the house stay cool during the day.

Another way to beat the heat is to run the furnace fan only. The duct work in an unheated basement will transfer cooler air to the upstairs.

Also, a high-efficiency furnace filter will help keep air pollution under control.

Using a fan to bring in cool evening air into the house has the disadvantage of allowing smoke pollution inside the dwelling.

Children should be protected as much as possible from any type of pollution since their lungs are growing.

“Children and seniors, the homeless, people with chronic illnesses, and people who take certain medications, such as blood pressure medications and even antihistamines, are especially at risk for problems with high summer temperatures,” according to a news release from local authorities this week.

“People who exercise in extreme heat are more likely to become dehydrated and get heat-related illness, including heat stroke,” according to the joint, five-agency news release.