Dry, Foggy Days & Air Quality Concerns: Puget Sound Forecast

SEATTLE — Puget Sound is looking at a long stretch of partly sunny weather, apart from a few potentially stubborn rounds of fog, according to the latest forecasts.

The National Weather Service expects a ridge of high pressure to stick around over the next several days, keeping things dry around Western Washington and providing a nice break from what has already been a very eventful winter. However, there are a couple of wrenches in the forecast.

"First off will be a continued threat of fog...at the very least in the overnight and early morning period, but given weak pressure gradients and limited mixing due to prolonged stable conditions, the risk of these conditions persisting into more of an all-day fog is present," NWS Seattle wrote Friday. "Secondly, as the ridge persists, air quality is expected to worsen through the weekend, especially for sheltered valleys where the inversion layer stays strong throughout the day and areas of high population where emissions are higher."

Forecasters said any impacts to air quality were likely to begin around Sunday, and the National Weather Service is working with their colleagues at the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency to determine whether the impacts will be significant enough to warrant alerts or advisories. Forecasters said fog and air quality concerns were likely to persist through the first half of next week.

On the upside, the current forecast still includes plenty of opportunities for a little sunshine to break through, with partly sunny skies possible each afternoon through at least Wednesday in the Seattle area. Temperatures should remain stable and mild, with afternoon highs landing in the high 40s for most.

The latter half of the week could bring back a slight chance of rain, as the ridge exits, which should also clear up any remaining areas of fog and reduced air quality.