Wildfire Smoke To Return This Weekend: NWS Forecast

SEATTLE, WA - Enjoy Friday and Saturday while you can. Wildfire smoke will begin drifting into Puget Sound on Sunday, and air quality could deteriorate to "unhealthy" levels by Monday, according to the National Weather Service.

The NWS issues a special weather statement Friday morning warning of smoky conditions perhaps through Wednesday.

"The surface flow pattern will turn offshore and northerly on Sunday. Smoke from British Columbia fires is likely to spread south into Western Washington. Northern areas will be affected first, but eventually all of Western Washington could have thick smoke near the surface. It is possible that air quality could return to the unhealthy levels of earlier this week on Monday and Tuesday," the special weather statement read.

Aside from air quality, Saturday is shaping up to be the nicer of the two days this weekend. We'll see highs in the upper 70s with clear skies. Here's the full weekend forecast from the NWS:

Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 58. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.

Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 78. Light and variable wind becoming north northwest 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon.

Saturday Night: Clear, with a low around 59. North northeast wind 7 to 9 mph.

Sunday: Widespread haze after 11am. Sunny, with a high near 83. North wind 6 to 9 mph.

Sunday Night: Widespread haze. Mostly clear, with a low around 60.

File photo by Patricia Huzar/Patch