Cool & Wet Weather On Tap To Close Out Spring: Puget Sound Forecast

SEATTLE — After a pleasant and partly sunny Thursday for most around Puget Sound, rain showers return to the forecast Friday, and a chance for more will linger through the last weekend of spring.

It's a fitting end to what has been an unusually wet and cool season for Western Washington, and one that has repeatedly set new precipitation and temperature records. According to the National Weather Service, the first half of June was Seattle's wettest in more than three decades after logging nearly 2.5 inches of rainfall.

Since April 1, the NWS said afternoon highs landed below normal 83 percent of the time, and more than half of the days ran at least 5 degrees cooler than usual. If the current models hold, the Emerald City may set another new record next week. Forecasters said the latest date on record for reaching 75 degrees or higher is June 23, set in 2010, and the current 7-day forecast shows temperatures failing to even crack 70.

Summer solstice arrives Tuesday at 2:13 a.m.

In the near term, Friday looks to be the coolest and wettest in the group, with clouds and a chance of showers sticking around through the long Juneteenth weekend.

"A round of steadier rainfall will move northward Friday morning and through the day with the upper trough sliding inland," NWS Seattle wrote Thursday. "The steadiest activity will be in the afternoon for most areas, with a few showers into Friday night."

Saturday should see low clouds and some morning drizzle before drier weather wins out in the afternoon. Temperatures should warm a bit Monday and Tuesday, climbing back into the upper 60s, before cooling again around mid-week.

Here is the five-day forecast for the Seattle area:

• Friday: 61°/52° (Rain likely - 70%)
• Saturday: 63°/52° (Chance of showers - 40%)
• Juneteenth: 63°/53° (Chance of showers - 30%)
• Monday: 66°/54° (Mostly cloudy)
• Summer solstice: 68°/53° (Mostly cloudy)