Rainless Streak Continues For Puget Sound, With Cooler Days Ahead

SEATTLE — Forecasters expect at least one more day of abundant sunshine and temperatures in the 80s ahead of a cooler shift toward seasonal normals.

Western Washington has been spared the effects of the latest heat dome, which brought more historic heat to California over the weekend — including in Death Valley, where forecasters recorded the globe's highest daily average temperature on record Sunday. Temperatures across much of the West are forecast to stay well above average for the week ahead, with several wildfires already raging.

For Puget Sound, Tuesday will look a lot like recent days, landing in the low 80s for most by afternoon. According to the latest forecasts, the mercury should shift a few degrees by Wednesday, before declining to the low 70s Thursday and Friday as cloud cover returns. Unfortunately, they are unlikely to be rainclouds, as the Seattle area enters its fifth week without measurable precipitation.

The prolonged dry stretch has increased fire dangers across the region, and brush fires over the weekend kept crews busy in many counties. Wildfires burning elsewhere in the state include the Dry Gulch Fire in Asotin County, which has burned closed to 50,000 acres, and the lightning-sparked Cedar Creek Fire near Mazama. According to the state Department of Natural Resources, officials have recorded nearly twice the number of fires than average for this time of year.

On the positive side, the National Weather Service expects a couple more optimal nights for stargazing, with a crescent moon, several International Space Station passes, and the early days of the Delta Aquariids.

Without some lucky drizzle by Wednesday, Seattle will officially reach its fifth-longest dry stretch without measurable rain since 2000, forecasters said. The climate outlook shows favorable odds for drier conditions continuing, with temperatures closer to the average range over the next week.