The haze from fire smoke in Portland’s skies Wednesday didn’t help tamp down the heat at all. The high temperature, as measured at the Portland International Airport, hit 96.8. It’s not near the record for the date, but about 15 degrees above average.
The National Weather Service says very strong high pressure moving up from the desert southwest has created a ridge that extends along the Rocky Mountains and into Canada. This ridge should mostly stay in place through at least Saturday.
Low pressure moving slowly southeast from the Gulf of Alaska will put Portland in between two different weather features and help to keep the worst of the heat at bay.
Portland should see some slight cooling beginning Thursday and continuing into the weekend. After Wednesday’s high of nearly 97, Thursday’s predicted high of about 88 should come as some relief.
Portland should even see some marine clouds early on Friday. Once the clouds clear, skies should be partly sunny with a high of about 86 degrees.
This pattern repeats to some degree on Saturday. Skies may have some thin early morning clouds, then clear to sunny. The high will be near 86.
Sunday may be the perfect late July day. Skies will be mostly sunny, and the high will reach about 83 degrees, which is about average.
The extended forecast is looking interesting with higher confidence that temperatures will slowly cool beginning next week due to a system moving south from the Gulf of Alaska. Details are still in flux, but there’s a good chance of temperatures moving below normal during late July with highs in the upper 70s or low 80s, and even some mention of the possibility of light rain.