Labor Day forecast: Will smoky skies or rain return?

A fair and mild Labor Day weekend is taking shape in Western Washington, after an August that’s been marked by smoky skies and some 90-degree days.

Friday and Saturday should be mostly sunny with temperatures in the high 60s and low 70s, said meteorologist Ni Cushmeer at the National Weather Service in Seattle.

But Sunday and Monday could produce a sprinkle or two, along with the return of wildfire smoke from Canada, she said.

“The chance is greater in Bellingham than farther south,” Cushmeer said. “It may just be a chance of showers over the North Cascades.”

Air quality remained good throughout Whatcom County on Thursday and the ban on recreational fires has been lifted after last week’s smoke emergency.

Still, more than 500 wildfires were still burning across British Columbia and Vancouver Island, said Kevin Skrepnek, chief fire information officer for the B.C. Wildfire Service.

Any smoke that drifts south from those wildfires should stay higher in the atmosphere and not affect air quality, Cushmeer said.

“If there’s smoke, it’ll be aloft and make for an interesting sunset,” she said. “It doesn’t look like it’s going to be as bad as it was,” earlier in August, when air quality reached hazardous levels in some areas.

This story was originally published August 31, 2018 at 5:00 AM.