The wind is changing, but what about the heat and hazy skies?

A shift in the wind is bringing cooler temperatures and maybe a sprinkle or two — in addition to scouring the skies of haze that’s been plaguing Western Washington for the past week.

“The hot weather’s gone for at least awhile,” said Art Gaebel at the National Weather Service in Seattle.

Winds began blowing mostly from the south on Monday evening, Gaebel said, bringing a respite from more than a week of temperatures that ranged from the high 70s to 90 degrees at Bellingham International Airport.

Ocean breezes brought cooler temperatures to Bellingham on Tuesday, where the mercury said it was 67 degrees at 1 p.m., compared to a temperature of 76 degrees at the same time Monday.

It also should clear the haze from wildfires in Siberia, California and other regions that’s lowered the air quality in some areas of Whatcom County .

Gaebel said skies should remain mostly sunny with a few clouds though the weekend, but temperatures for the first week of August are likely to be in the lows 70s, closer to seasonal norms.

Temperatures for July were averaging 77.4 degrees, about 6 degrees above normal for July.

Rainfall has been low since May, with only 1.22 inches of rain.

There’s also a slight chance of rain in Bellingham for several days starting Thursday and going through the weekend, he said.

“I wouldn’t put a lot of stock in that,” Gaebel said. “It’s not going to amount to anything. Maybe a few sprinkles.”

He also discounted early forecasts of stormy weather next week.

This story was originally published July 31, 2018 at 2:05 PM with the headline "The wind is changing, but what about the heat and hazy skies?."