Just in time for the Fourth of July, Seattle is celebrating its independence.
From the heat.
Temperatures have fallen back to the more comfortable upper 70s today in the wake of an early summer heat wave that brought a string of toasty weather to Puget Sound—punctuated by a 93-degree reading at Sea-Tac Airport on Sunday, and a daily record high of 89 degrees on Monday. With the sizzling area of high pressure that caused the heat retreating to the Southwest, the mercury is set to cool off even further the next few days, dropping back to early July norms.
Ah, the taste of freedom at 74 degrees.
Skies will stay on the sunny side for the rest of the day, with a cool breeze off the Sound making for a pleasant night region-wide. With a drier air mass in place, overnight temperatures should bottom out in the upper 50s—far more tolerable than Monday’s record morning lows.
A smattering of low clouds along the coast will push inland early tomorrow, streaming as far north as the South Sound before burning off under the strong summer sunshine. Clouds are also possible near Everett as marine air trickles in from the Strait—but they’ll likewise vanish by mid-morning as the sun wins out. Highs for the Fourth will top out in the mid 70s under clear skies, lowering to the mid 60s around fireworks time.
Our liberty from oppression—temperature-wise, that is—continues into Friday, with thermometers again peaking in the normal 75-degree range. Skies, however, are likely to start out on a gray note as an upper level weather system scoots by to our north, shoving plenty of clouds into Western Washington. The sun should re-appear by the early afternoon.
We warm things up a bit on Saturday, with minimal morning clouds allowing highs to creep back into the upper 70s. Sunday looks a smidge hotter as sunny skies bring the region near the 80-degree mark.
By Monday, strengthening high pressure is likely to send temperatures back into the low 80s—the upper bounds of what constitutes pleasant weather around here. Fortunately, nothing screams 90 degrees and humid at this point—a good sign for our newly heat-free city.
Where independence from hot weather can’t last long enough.
