We Need Rain, And Seattle Area Will Get It This Week: NWS

SEATTLE, WA — The first official day of summer was on Friday. But it looks like spring will arrive in Puget Sound this week.

The latest forecasts are predicting rain and cool temperatures for the region this week. It will be the first stretch of significant rainfall in more than two months amid an ongoing severe drought in Western Washington.

There's a slight chance for rain on Monday, but the National Weather Service is predicting a 70 percent chance on Wednesday with showers continuing through the weekend. And that's good because we really need the rain. As of June 23, rain totals in the Seattle area were between 8 and 16 inches below normal, according to NWS data.

So far in June, we've had 0.81 inches of rain. That's not much, but more than May when just 0.62 inches fell at Sea-Tac. April was a little more normal with about 3-1/2 inches.

Meantime, we've been breaking temperature records. On June 13, a record high of 91 was recorded at Sea-Tac. Record highs were also broken on May 10, 11, and 12, when temperatures got into the mid-80s during a short spring heatwave. It's going to be cool this week, with highs in the upper 60s, and lows in the low 50s.

Here's the full week-ahead forecast for the Seattle-Bellevue area from the National Weather Service:

Monday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 68. South southeast wind 5 to 8 mph becoming west in the afternoon.

Monday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 52. West wind 7 to 14 mph becoming northeast in the evening.

Tuesday: A 20 percent chance of showers after 11am. Partly sunny, with a high near 68. Northeast wind 6 to 8 mph becoming west in the afternoon.

Tuesday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly after 11pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 53. North wind 16 to 18 mph becoming south in the evening. Winds could gust as high as 24 mph.

Wednesday: Showers likely, mainly after 11am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 65. Chance of precipitation is 70 percent. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

Wednesday Night: Showers likely, mainly before 11pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 53. Chance of precipitation is 60 percent.

Thursday: Showers likely, mainly after 11am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 66.

Thursday Night: Showers likely, mainly before 11pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 53.

Friday: A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 66.

Friday Night: A slight chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 54.