Shower and thunderstorm chances for Monday. Heat builds again into later this week.

Clean air agencies in Washington have issued an Air Quality Alert for Yakima, Benton, and Walla Walla counties until further notice.

Today: Monday will feature light haze, clouds, and our best shower/thunderstorm chances in quite some time. The wet weather will arrive from the west by the mid-morning, becoming more widespread into the afternoon. The best shower/thunderstorm chances will be focused along the Cascades and in the Kittitas Valley. Lightning could pose a risk for fire starts, especially in the Blue Mountains. Vegetation dryness there is still in the 86th percentile compared to historical data. Otherwise, today will be cool (for this time of the year) and breezy. Highs will be about 5-10 degrees below average for late July. It’ll be in the upper-70s in the Kittitas Valley, with low to mid-80s in the Yakima Valley, Lower Columbia Basin, and in the foothills of the Blues. Winds will gust out of the north and west for the Kittitas/Yakima valleys, and out of the west-southwest for the Lower Columbia Basin and foothills of the Blues. Winds will gust between 20-30 MPH.

Tonight: Showers will linger well into the late evening, although thunderstorm chances will shrink after the sun goes down. Winds will continue gusting from the north and west for the Kittitas/Yakima valleys, with a west-southwest component in the Lower Columbia Basin and in the Blue Foothills. Gusts will only rev up to around 20 MPH. Overnight lows will be comfortable, as the Kittitas/Yakima valleys will be in the mid to upper-50s. The Lower Columbia Basin, and foothills of the Blues, will be in the low to mid-60s.

Extended: Showers and thunderstorms could linger into Tuesday morning, mainly in the Blue Foothills and Blue Mountains. However, Tuesday will be a much drier day overall, and a little bit warmer too. Highs will be about 5-degrees below average (near 90 degrees in the Tri-Cities) by Tuesday, and average 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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