Freak Spring Heat In Puget Sound: Is This A Bad Thing?

SEATTLE, WA — It's only the first week of May, but Western Washington is headed into a very August-like stretch of weather. We haven't had rain in about two weeks, and temperatures are going to hit the 80s starting on Thursday.

So, is it time to start freaking out about wilting flowers, drought, dead lawns, and wildfires? Is this a preview of a long, hot, dry summer?

The short answer is we don't know. Experts are advising local residents to enjoy the warm, sunny, dry weather — but don't let your guard down.

We'll tackle the scary stuff first. There have been 239 wildfires so far in 2019 in Washington, which is the highest in 10 years (the second-highest was in 2015 with 170), according to state officials. There is some concern this May heat wave might spark new fires, especially with people spending more time outdoors, increasing the chance someone will leave a campfire smoldering or throw a firecracker into a canyon.

"We're very concerned already," state Department of Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman Janet Pearce said Tuesday. "Our fire season is here now. It's starting a little earlier than usual."

Pearce said that many seasonal wildland firefighters will be active this weekend, which means the state is staffed up to deal with any fire outbreaks. In Western Washington, state officials are mainly worried about conditions in the Bellingham area and the southwest part of the state, where an 18-acre fire burned earlier this spring in Lewis County.

In the Seattle area, Pearce said residents can reduce the chance local fires by clearing fuel — things like dry grass clippings or old tree limbs — in yards and along greenbelts. She also said to be careful about causing sparks while mowing the lawn or using a weed-eater.

"It would be smart to have a plan, like a garden hose in case something sparks," she said. "Our lawns are going to start to get crispy."

In 2018, close to 2,000 wildfires burned some 440,000 acres in Washington, and that's not including the massive fires in British Columbia that socked the region with smoke in August.

National Weather Service meteorologist Mike McFarland is advising Puget Sound residents to enjoy the warm weather, because it's possible we'll get rain as soon as next week. There's also the possibility of a gloomy, rainy June (or late May for that matter), he said.

Our total rainfall this spring is a little below normal. Between March 1 and May 6, SeaTac Airport had 5 inches of rain, the 12th lowest amount dating back to 1945 between those dates. The driest March 1 to May 6 stretch was in 2004, when only 3 inches of rain fell. The entire region is also about 2 inches below normal for precipitation over the last 90 days, according to the NWS.

But there's been enough rain recently to give us a pretty lush spring bloom, McFarland said, which will keep the wildfire danger down. McFarland said there a cooling trend will set in after this weekend, bringing the region back to more May-like weather.

"We could end up having a miserable June with lots of rain," McFarland said. "I would say just enjoy it."

Here are the high and low temperatures for the upcoming May heat wave in Puget Sound.

Seattle-Bellevue area

• Thursday 56/79
• Friday 56/83
• Saturday 58/83
• Sunday 55/75

Tacoma, Pierce County

• Thursday 50/76
• Friday 56/82
• Saturday 57/82
• Sunday 56/75