Despite Haze Another Tri-City Temperature Record Tied This Week

The temperature records have been falling like leaves from a thirsty tree this summer.

Lots of marks tied as well.

Not only is our air right now considered unhealthy, but we had a record temp tied as well. Wednesday, August 11, 1898, Kennewick was recorded as having hit 106 degrees.

The history of area temperatures is a little dicey at times, once you go back beyond more 'modern' times (the last 60-70 years) they're harder to find. But according to recorded marks, we tied that record that was set 123 years ago. Whew!

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Aside from that, it may not have 'felt' like 106 because of the haze. But that smoky film that makes the sun look like a cherry ball in the sky is not good. According to smoke maps, such as the one found at fire.airnow.gov, our air quality is red. Very unhealthy. The grey screen indicates smoke covering area. Yikes!

Their maps show a smattering of blazes to the east of us in Idaho, plus several in the mammoth Umatilla National Forest. There are also blazes in the Cascades and we're even getting some smoke from the Westside.

There's also a number of fires north up towards Spokane and Post Falls, Idaho. So we are pretty much surrounded.

The long term forecast into next week is for some clearing, and some cooling a bit, perhaps 8-10 degrees or more for our weather. Let's hope so!