Clean air returns under pleasant summer weather

After nearly two weeks of hot, smoky skies, Spokane saw weather return to more normal conditions on Monday.

Air quality as measured in Spokane was in the “good” range, after going into the unhealthy range on six days this month and into the unhealthy range for sensitive persons five times.

A high temperature of 74 degrees on Monday was more than 20 degrees cooler than the peak of 97 degrees the Friday before.

National Weather Service forecasters said the coming week should be something to look forward to when it comes to weather.

“I like it,” said forecaster Laurie Nisbet. “Dry, near-average temperatures, generally light winds.”

Despite a fairly short rainstorm in the city on Sunday morning, Spokane is still in an extended dry streak.

Spokane International Airport southwest of downtown had only a trace of rain in what turned out to be a weak and spotty storm Sunday.

The airport is the official measuring station for the city.

That means that the ongoing dry streak, with no measurable precipitation, now stands at 47 days.

The record was set at 73 days in 1894.

Felts Field at Millwood registered 0.03 of an inch of rain, which would have been enough to end the dry spell, but Felts is not the official measuring station.

High temperatures are expected to be in the low to middle 80s through Monday, with lows in the upper 50s and lower 60s.

A light airflow may bring more British Columbia wildfire smoke to places like Omak, Republic and Colville, which are closer to Canada.

Even if smoke returns, “It’s not going to be something like we had last week,” Nisbet said.

The main threat of smoke returning to the Spokane region comes from new fires that broke out over the weekend, possibly caused by lightning, Nisbet said.

The fires were at Saddle Mountain near Othello, Jolly Mountain near Cle Elum and Ryegrass near Interstate 90 east of Ellensburg.

Thunderstorms over the weekend struck in British Columbia, Nisbet said, and may have sparked new fires in the ravaged province.

On Monday, 28 wildfires were burning in British Columbia.

Residents of Williams Lake in the province were allowed to return home after an evacuation order was lifted.

In northern Washington, the Diamond Creek Fire northwest of Winthrop on Monday had grown to nearly 27,000 acres in very rugged terrain.

Crews were digging hand lines, launching aircraft and burning out encircled areas to stop the advance.

The 4,000-acre Noisy Creek Fire east of Sullivan Lake slowed its advance. Crews were digging hand lines, and plan to take advantage of existing roads to stop the fire near Grease Creek.

Looking ahead to next Monday, the weather forecast calls for dry sunny conditions across most of the Pacific Northwest, including along the path of Monday’s total solar eclipse.

“The potential is good for viewing next Monday morning,” Nisbet said, but the forecast, of course, is subject to change.