Warming Up for the Weekend

If you like your indoor and outdoor temperatures to match, you’re in luck.

At least for today.

The average high in Seattle on Sept. 19 is 70 degrees, otherwise known as room temperature—and right on cue, that’s about as warm as we’ll get this afternoon. With plenty of clouds from yesterday’s weak system still lingering over the Sound, sunshine will be in limited supply until this evening, preventing the mercury from creeping much higher.

This weekend, though, it’s a different story.

A strong upper level ridge will bubble up from our south on Saturday, pushing temperatures into the mid to upper 70s by late afternoon. That’s after a somewhat chilly, foggy morning, with overnight lows bottoming out near 50 degrees.

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Blue skies engulf Friday Harbor on a recent late-summer day. More sunshine and warm weather is expected in Western Washington this weekend.

We dial things up several more notches Sunday as the winds veer to the east, pulling in warmer air over the Cascades. This should allow temperatures to soar into the mid 80s, especially from Seattle southward, making for our third consecutive toasty Sunday. (Sea-Tac hit 86 last Sunday, and 83 a week before that.) However, it doesn’t look like it’ll be quite hot enough for us to challenge the record high for the day—88 degrees from 1974.

The heat slowly abates Sunday night as cooler ocean air trickles in, accompanied by a healthy band of clouds. By Monday morning, the entire metro area should be cloaked in gray, with the sun not burning through until lunchtime. Highs, though, will rebound nicely into the lower 70s.

Tuesday kicks off on a mostly clear note, but skies will cloud up by the afternoon as a cold front races toward the state. Rain should begin falling on the coast late Tuesday, slowly spreading inland on Wednesday. At this point, things don’t look too wet around Seattle, with just a tenth of an inch or so expected. Higher amounts are likely up around Bellingham, where more than a quarter-inch could fall.

Showery weather continues from Wednesday through next Friday as a large upper-level low churns out over the eastern Pacific, spinning additional rounds of moisture into Western Washington. Winds could also be a little breezy at times, with highs only reaching the mid 60s—a little chilly for those who like their weather at room temperature.

But just about right for those craving the first taste of fall.

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