October-Like Chill to Blanket the Northwest US This Week

By Chyna Glenn, AccuWeather.com Meteorologist

September 1,2015; 11:27AM,EDT

 

 

The cool and wet pattern will continue through the first week of September in the Northwest after a pattern change last week brought relief from the prolonged dry and hot conditions to the region.
It was very warm last month for many locations in the Northwest including Seattle, Washington; Portland, Oregon; and Boise, Idaho, with temperatures coming in well above what is normal during the month August.
The previous weather pattern allowed for long periods of dry, hot weather which promoted the development and spread of the now widespread and serious drought across the region.

This drought unfortunately led to the extensive wildfire activity, with close to 70 fires burning throughout California, Oregon, Idaho, Washington and Montana, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
With about 60 million people currently affected by the drought in the West and close to 30 percent of the region under at least an extreme drought, the change in pattern will provide some relief to both the drought and fire concerns.

A strong storm system sitting off the coast in the Pacific Ocean will drag an impressive cold front across the area and allow showers to occur and temperatures to fall on Wednesday.
As the front is draped across the region, temperatures will struggle to reach the 70-degree Fahrenheit mark, while conditions remain overcast and dreary.
Soggy weather will remain across the area as the cold front begins to slow across the interior Northwest, keeping at least a stray shower in the forecast until Friday.
The rate at which these showers and intermittent periods of rain move across the region will allow for the ground to soak up this moisture instead of it running off in the form of flash flooding.
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The cooler conditions to impact locations through the end of the week are typically found at the beginning of October and not the beginning of September and compared to the very warm August, those looking to beat the heat will appreciate fall's early debut.
However, changes will arrive just in time for the weekend as drier air will be brought in behind this front.
The sunshine will return on Saturday and temperatures will begin to moderate to near normal by the end of the weekend.