Assuming it hits 80 degrees day, it will mark the first time on record during April that it has hit 80 degrees on three days and the longest April streak of 80 degree days.
Monday not only marked the hottest April day in Seattle, but also in Olymia (88 degrees vs. old record of 87) and Bellingham (83 degrees vs. old record of 78).
A number of locations in northwest Washington surged above 90 degrees!
“Pretty safe to say [Monday] was the warmest April day on record in western Washington,” the National Weather Service in Seattle said.
Temperatures in the Pacific Northwest were as warm as anywhere in the nation, including southern California and south Texas. It was eight degrees hotter in Seattle than in Miami.
University of Washington professor of atmospheric sciences Cliff Mass explained on his blog that a strong ridge of high pressure at high altitudes over the western U.S. set the stage for the unusual heat.
Closer to sea level, “there was southerly flow with enough of an easterly component to give some offshore flow that reduced the marine influence,” Mass said.
After today’s round of record heat, temperature will cool Wednesday into the 70s as winds start to come off the water. By Thursday and continuing through the weekend, skies turn overcast with daily shower chances. Temperatures return to more characteristic 50s and 60s.