Kapow! Severe thunderstorm materialized over Thurston County late Monday. Here’s why

Rolf Boone
·2 min read

A rare, isolated thunder and lightning storm rattled Thurston County Monday night and early Tuesday, but did not result in any major damage, officials said.

The National Weather Service issued a severe weather alert for the area south of Yelm about 6 p.m. Monday, but the alert lasted only about 20 minutes, said meteorologist Kayla Mazurkiewicz.

However, about 1 a.m. many here were awakened by flashes of light and explosive thunder.

Mazurkiewicz said an upper level low, including moisture, moved over the area and then came into contact with the hot air that settled over the Olympia area on Monday. That hot air caused Olympia to set a new record high for the day at 92 degrees, smashing the old record of 85 degrees set in 1958.

“It’s a great environment for the storms to grow,” she said.

The weather system responsible for the storm has shifted off to the east as it weakens, according to NWS.

Despite the light show and thunder, a Thurston County dispatcher said Tuesday they were not aware of any reports of damage tied to the storm. A Lacey Fire District 3 official said the same.

Puget Sound Energy’s outage map showed a few scattered outages in the area Tuesday morning.

As a result of the storm, the rest of the week is expected to be cooler than first forecast.

Wednesday is expected to be the hottest day, with a high of 84. Thursday through Monday will be comfortably warm, with highs between 70 and 80. Temperatures will fall into the upper 60s by Monday, Mazurkiewicz said.

Seattle set a record daily high for the fourth day in a row on Monday. Seattle’s highs on Friday (82), Saturday (86), Sunday (89) and Monday (88) all beat previous records set at the weather station at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, according to the National Weather Service.

In fact, record temperatures that ramped up Friday peaked over the weekend throughout the Pacific Northwest. Some of the most impressive heat stats collected by The Washington Post:

  • Quillayute and Hoquiam hit 92 degrees and 91 degrees, respectively, tying and passing old records for May.

  • Florence, North Bend and Astoria in Oregon reached the 90s and all set monthly records on Sunday. Florence soared to 97 degrees.

  • Several locations in British Columbia reached and surpassed 95 on Sunday, including Lytton at 96.6 degrees. May heat records were set at Pemberton, Campbell River and Tofino, among other spots.

  • Portland had three days at or above 90 degrees, all record highs, Friday through Sunday.