Just a few days into summer, and very summer like heat is bearing down on the Inland Northwest. High pressure has settled into the Northwest, allowing for a lot of sunshine, and in many cases temperatures in the upper 70s to low 90s.

These sunny, dry conditions have unfortunately dried out soil conditions across much of the area. Marilyn Lohmann, meteorologist with the National Weather Service said while plummeting soil moisture levels is not a good thing as we move to summer, she noted some parts of the region have fared much worse.

“And there was an area, generally west of the Tri-Cities that never really recovered on up into the Yakima Valley.  I was on a lot of calls, and the Natural Resource people, and others, were talking about how there wasn’t the green up that we normally see in the desert type plants, even this year.  So, that’s kind of an indicators that that soil moisture never really recovered.”

Lohmann said these sunny hot days won’t stick around for very long. She expects a low pressure system to move in Saturday bringing cloudy skies, a chance of showers and temperatures 15-20 degrees cooler.



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