Brief heat wave this week likely to send wildfire smoke toward Bellingham
Summer is taking a final bow in the form of one-day heat wave that could bring the last 80-degree day of 2025 to Whatcom County and the rest of Western Washington.
But a change in wind direction could also send wildfire over the region.
Forecasters at the National Weather Service in Seattle said that a high of 80 degrees is forecast for Bellingham on Tuesday. Temperatures that high are rare in September, meteorologist Dana Felton told The Herald.
“There’s a good chance that this is going to be the last very warm day of the year. It could be close to a record temperature,” Felton said in a phone call from the weather service office in Seattle.
The average high temperature for Bellingham is 68 degrees in mid-September. The record high for Sept. 16 is 82, set in 1967.
Tuesday’s brief heat wave comes from short burst of high pressure, Felton said.
More normal temperatures return Wednesday, with a chance of rain through the weekend leading to the first day of fall on Monday, Sept. 22.
Officials with the state Department of Ecology, the Northwest Clean Air Agency and others discussed the possibility of widespread smoky skies in a conference call Monday morning.
Their conclusion was that easterly winds starting Monday night will bring the potential for smoke to Western Washington through Tuesday.
“Concern is mainly King County northward through Bellingham and any additional fire activity tomorrow from active fire conditions,” Ecology forecaster Beth Friedman said.
No air quality alerts were planned early Monday.
Felton told The Herald that smoke levels could rise into the unhealthy range for a short time.
“It doesn’t look like it’s going to be bad, but there’s a definite increase in low-level smoke,” he said.
