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Check out my latest Eugene Daily News Weather Or Not Column “A Shooting Star Bonanza”

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And don’t forget my latest feature story in the continuing series on service club organizations called Who Are The Soroptimists And What Are They Doing?

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Here is my weekly weather quiz question. What is a “Shortwave?”  And I don’t mean a type of radio. Please remember to post your answer as a comment by clicking on “no comments /comments” in the upper right hand portion of this page under the caption, then add your comment. The first person to post the correct answer will win a week of free personalized weather forecasts tailored to your needs. The answer has to be a comment to win. An email answer will not count. Good luck.

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A ridge of high pressure (“Arch” shape in blue arrows) is weakening and moving eastward allowing an upper level low (Shaded “U” shape with blue arrows) to take over for a more westerly airflow aloft and as a result cooler high temperatures and the smoke from the wildfires to our south will slowly move eastward away from us. A frontal system looks like it is preparing to visit the Pacific Northwest next Tuesday, but it is doubtful that it will affect our weather very much because it should stall out. The Perseid Meteor shower will continue and peak on the night of August 12. The weather is looking just about perfect for the Scandinavian Festival Thursday through Sunday in Junction City.

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Advisories:

• A RED FLAG WARNING IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM THIS EVENING FOR WIND AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY FOR: THE LOWER COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN OF OREGON.
• A HEALTH ADVISORY HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THE PRESENCE OF BLUE-GREEN ALGAE FOR WALTERVILLE POND IN LANE COUNTY AND THE ADVISORY CONTINUES AT DEVILS LAKE IN LINCOLN COUNTY. HIGH LEVELS OF CYANOTOXIN HAVE WERE FOUND IN ODEL LAKE IN KLAMATH COUNTY RESULTING IN A HEALTH ADVISORY BEING ISSUED THERE ALSO. THE TOXIC ALGAE BLOOM MEANS THAT PEOPLE SHOULD NOT HAVE DIRECT CONTACT WITH THE AFFECTED WATER AND THAT ALSO GOES FOR ANY PETS.

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Air Quality Index:

Eugene-Springfield: The Air Quality Index is 18 in the Good category measuring Particulate Matter at Springfield City Hall. Data courtesy of Lane Regional Air Protection Agency (LRAPA)

Oakridge: The Air Quality Index is 13 in the Good category measuring Particulate Matter at Willamette Activity Center, Oakridge. Data courtesy of Lane Regional Air Protection Agency (LRAPA)

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Eugene-Springfield Pollen Count:

Grass………. Moderate (8)

Trees………. Low (4)

Last Counted: 8/1/14

Data Courtesy of Oregon Allergy Associates

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Forecast for the Southern and lower Mid Willamette Valley including Eugene-Springfield and Albany-Corvallis:

• Sunny this afternoon still some haze, clear tonight,
• Mostly sunny Thursday, mostly clear at night,
• Mostly cloudy in the AM, mostly sunny Friday afternoon, mostly clear at night.
• highs 84-82 lows near 54.
• Mostly sunny Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, mostly clear each night.
• highs 86-92 lows 57-54. (seasonal averages high 84 low 52)

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Forecast for the Umpqua Basin including Roseburg:

• Sunny this afternoon, mostly clear tonight,
• Sunny Thursday and Friday, then mostly clear each night.
• highs 85 lows near 57.
• Mostly sunny Saturday and Sunday, mostly clear at night,
• Mostly sunny with a slight (20%) chance of thunderstorms Monday afternoon, mostly clear with a slight (20%) chance of thunderstorms Monday night,
• Then sunny Tuesday.
• highs 87-94 lows 59-62. (seasonal averages high 86 low 56)

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Forecast for the South Oregon Coast including Coos Bay and North Bend:

• Mostly cloudy with patchy AM coastal fog, mostly sunny this afternoon, mostly clear in the evening inland and partly cloudy late while partly cloudy at the shore in the evening and mostly cloudy late tonight,
• Cloudy with patchy coastal fog in the AM, sunny Thursday afternoon, mostly clear in the evening inland and partly cloudy late while partly cloudy at the shore in the evening and mostly cloudy late Thursday night,
• Cloudy with patchy AM fog at the shore while partly cloudy inland Friday AM, sunny in the afternoon, partly cloudy at night.
• highs near 64 lows near 54.
• Partly cloudy Saturday through Sunday night,
• Mostly cloudy Monday AM, sunny in the afternoon, then partly cloudy Monday night and Tuesday.
• highs 64-66 lows near 56. (seasonal averages high 65 low 53)

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Forecast for the Cascades in Lane County:

• Sunny today, mostly clear tonight,
• Mostly sunny Thursday and Friday, then mostly clear each night.
• free air freezing level 14,000 ft. today, 15,000 ft. tonight, then 14,000 ft. Thursday through Friday night.
• highs 72-70 lows 48-46 warming to near 50 Friday night.
• Mostly sunny Saturday AM, partly cloudy in the afternoon, partly cloudy with a slight (20%) chance of showers and thunderstorms Saturday night,
• Partly cloudy with a slight (20%) chance of showers and thunderstorms Sunday and Sunday night,
• Partly cloudy Monday, partly cloudy with a slight (20%) chance of showers and thunderstorms at night,
• Partly cloudy Tuesday AM, then mostly sunny in the afternoon.
• free air freezing level 14,000 ft. Saturday, snow level above 8,000 ft. Saturday night through Sunday night, free air freezing level 15,000 ft. Monday, snow level above 8,000 ft. Monday night, then free air freezing level 15,000 ft. Tuesday.
• highs 74-82 lows 52-54 cooling back to 52 Monday night.

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**Because weather forecasting is a combination of science, intuition, and timing there can be no absolute guarantees that individual forecasts will be 100% accurate. Nature is in a constant state of flux and sudden unexpected weather events can happen.

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Get your local Eugene-Springfield and Lane County news on-line at Eugene Daily News.com.

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