Lingering morning showers, afternoon sunshine. Another heatwave arrives by late week.

The Yakima Regional Clean Air Agency has issued an Air Quality Alert for Yakima County until further notice.

Today: A few showers or thunderstorms could be leftover this morning in the Cascades or Blue Mountains, and less-so for the Kittitas Valley and Blue Foothills. We should dry out by lunchtime, and skies will turn mostly sunny. Haze/smoke doesn’t look to be too widespread today, although it’ll still impact air quality in Yakima County–especially downwind of the Retreat Fire. Highs will still be about 5 degrees below average for late July. Expect mid-80s for the Kittitas/Yakima valleys and Blue Foothills, with upper-80s for the Lower Columbia Basin. Winds will gust between 20-30 MPH. They’ll gust out of the northwest for the Kittitas/Yakima valleys, and out of the west-southwest for the Lower Columbia Basin and Blue Foothills.

Tonight: Our weather tonight will be fairly quiet. Skies should be clear, and winds will calm down for most spots. However, they could still gust upwards of 25 MPH, out of the northwest, in the Kittitas Valley. Also, light northwesterly winds could still push smoke/haze from the Retreat Fire into parts of the Yakima Valley. Overnight lows will drop into the mid to upper-50s for the Kittitas/Yakima valleys and Lower Columbia Basin, with low-60d for the Blue Foothills.

Extended: Expect more sunshine and average highs by Wednesday (mid-90s in the Tri-Cities). For Thursday and beyond, expect another bout of 100s in the Tri-Cities! Highs will likely peak around 105 on Friday in the Tri-Cities, which means most of the region will be about 10 degrees above average. In addition to the heat returning, thunderstorm chances could return for Friday and beyond. Fire starts will once again be a top concern.

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