WeatherWatcher: Thunderstorms early Monday morning through Monday afternoon possible

Thunderstorm threat early morning to afternoon Monday August 6, 2012.

Lightning over Kitsap from the Edmonds waterfront.
Photo by Carl Dinse

After having the hottest day Shoreline and Lake Forest Park have seen in two years, topping out at 91.9ºF, we are having a rapid cool down. This cool down will be setting off the possibility of a new round of thunderstorms.

There is an upper level disturbance moving north from California that is setting off some thunderstorms, currently over the state of Oregon right now. This disturbance is expected to move into Western Washington overnight and into the morning.

This is actually fairly common after a heat wave producing high temperatures above the mid 80's followed by a rapid cool down of more than 10 degrees.

If you can hear thunder, you are close enough to be struck by lightning.  Seek shelter immediately in a fully enclosed vehicle (such as a hard top) or well grounded building.  Never stand under trees or near tall objects during a thunderstorm.

Stay away from all electrical appliances and plumbing fixtures inside the building as well.  It is possible for lightning to bypass grounding circuits and enter a building through the electrical system or plumbing system.

The leading cause of lightning deaths in the United States is from people seeking shelter under trees.