The Northwest is basking in an early taste of summer late this week. Highs are topping 80 degrees in parts of Oregon, Washington and Idaho. That could set records for the date in a lot of places.
Forecaster Colby Neuman with the National Weather Service in Portland said it's thanks to winds from the east that are blocking cooler air that typically spreads into the region from the ocean at this time of year. But Neuman added that the unseasonably warm weather isn't necessarily a sign of things to come.
"The warm spell now doesn't really correlate or predict what our summer's going to be like in terms of temperatures or precipitation,” Neuman said.
The mild temperatures are prompting warnings that even though it's warm outside, waterways are still flowing cold with mountain snow melt. That means people who want to escape the heat should use extra caution if they want to cool down in the region's lakes and rivers.
The early-season warmth should be short-lived. Temperatures are expected to fall back to normal by Saturday, with a chance of showers west of the Cascades.
Copyright 2016 NWNews.
