Unfortunately, records like these have not been rare lately.
The U.S.’s hottest summer on record. Earth’s hottest August on record.
Unfortunately, records like these have not been rare lately.
But what was exceptional for western Washington was how here we skirted that trend—at least this year.
While much of the country baked under persistent heat domes, and hot, dry conditions helped fuel wildfires, much of Western Washington stayed closer to normal. Seattle-Tacoma Airport finished July very slightly cooler than average...and August was very slightly warmer.
So why did we get relatively lucky in this corner of the country?
The heat ridges that plagued much of the country never fully locked in over Western Washington. Several weak systems grazing in from the northwest were able to shave down the ridge and limit our heat potential. That opened the door for repeated marine pushes, bringing cool Pacific air inland—nature’s air conditioning, arriving again and again.
But we do have to include central and eastern Washington. Those areas ran much hotter, and the combination of heat, dry vegetation, and at times gusty winds amped up a terrible wildfire season.
