It feels like we’re experiencing a mini-heat wave in parts of Oregon. On Tuesday, record highs were recorded in Portland, Astoria and Newport.
According to the National Weather Service, low atmospheric pressure near the California-Oregon border and a high pressure system off Washington’s coast formed a “thermal trough,” resulting in warmer air mass.
Jeremiah Pyle is a National Weather Service meteorologist in Portland.
“The last couple of days we’ve had more of an off-shore wind pattern where the wind is blowing from the east or northeast,” says Pyle. “It’s more of an over-land trajectory and we lose that marine influence that we typically have so that has helped us to warm up.”
But Pyle says it won’t last. Coastal breezes are due inland, cooling temperatures significantly. In the Willamette Valley, it’s expected to be much cooler by Friday and into the weekend-- with showers returning.
