Thunderstorms Hit Washington

The first group of thunderstorms are now passing through western Washington and more are coming tonight.  The left panel below shows the 11 AM radar, the heaviest showers are west of the Sound, with some fairly heavy (yellow colors).   An infrared satellite image shows the area of clouds associated with an upper level trough, with recent lightning shown by the red crosses.

We have warm, humid area over us now, with many dew points at 60F and above....that is why it feels kind of sticky.

The clouds and precipitation is cooling western Washington, but temperatures are surging over the Columbia Basin--some folks are already over 100F.  Expect many temps above 105F, some reaching 110F

These showers are just the first line, more will come later...here is the 24 hr precipitation ending 5 AM Monday.  Not used to seeing precipitation around here!  But with the rain will come lightning and the potential for new fire starts.  

 The next 24 hr?  More thunderstorms, particularly over the north Cascades and southern BC.
Serious fire threat.