The Most Perfect Weather In The World Is Seattle In July, So Stop Complaining

 After a jumpstart into summer in May this year with the 15th reaching 90F in many locations in the Puget Sound, and following a dry winter and late spring, it made people concerned. Would there be a 100 degree day in July? Would we have a horrible wildfire year? The past year or so has been on the drier side of the median for sure, and July was no exception. But the air has been clean and... less "sticky" than normal. A good portion of the time it has been accompanied by a nice breeze. At times it's felt like early Fall. And the nights have been incredibly bearable this year. I've barely even used a fan.

It's been magical this year. And there are a few reasons to prove it.

Reason #1. No Major Wildfires in Washington State or Oregon

I think this is the big reason that I will say is important, but it wasn't quite perfect. July 4th started out already with Moderate air quality from smoke aloft from Canada wildfires, which didn't mix too much to the surface. The air did not smell like burnt wood, for starters. But the onshore push later in the week on the 6th and 7th blew both the firework and the wildfire smoke out of here. July 4th through 6th were in the mid-80s. Hot, but not terrible, and this was probably the worst stretch out of the entire month only due to slightly reduced air quality and milky skies. The rest of the month has seen blue skies and good air quality with the occasional moderate reading. 

Reason #2. Warm but NOT hot (No Major Heatwaves)

My biggest pet peeve is complaints about the heat being "abnormal" or "this is Seattle under Climate Change" when the trend for major heatwaves has been steady throughout records since 1894. The first half of the 20th century saw major heat events even in May and June. Let's not forget that a year ago from the time of this writing, it was 90-95+ for a week with lows 65-70. And humid. The bottom line is we are seeing less days struggle to make 70, and more days are reaching 80. Since our average temperatures during midsummer are in the high 70's, this has exploded the average number of 80 degree days by triple, in the past 30 years. The trend to focus on is that under global warming we see the average tick up. In Western Washington there is not more "extreme" heatwaves under Global Warming, but more days will be a guaranteed 80F in Seattle than before. 

The hottest it has been since May 15 (91F at BFI) is 89. After the first half of August, it becomes significantly harder for us to reach 90F under a weaker sun, as we are 2 months away from the solstice at that point. Rare 90s can still happen through the first half of September, but those break records. 

Reason #3. Dry but not rainless

This July has been mostly clear except for a few marine layer mornings and the rainy 24th. The rain on the 24th was enough to break the dry streak and give some areas over a quarter of an inch of rain. Not bad for July. Bellingham had the wettest July day since 1995 with 0.73". Otherwise, a dry, sunny, low humidity July with cool nights for sleeping and warm days to enjoy the PNW outdoors. Every other July described as "perfect" by any means was rainless, which led to a far from perfect August. This July is setting us up in better field position to handle what August and September could bring.

The last two days of the month should feature seasonal temperatures, highs near 80 and lows near 60. Lots of sunshine.