WASHINGTON — Into Thursday morning, we’re likely to see some patchy fog in spots and also some low clouds. This will affect mainly lowland spots below about 1,000 feet elevation.
Above that level, we’re likely to get more sunshine for the morning.
Temperatures will be cool to start Thursday, in the 40s.
The afternoon will feature sunshine areawide and highs in the 60s along the coast and to the north, with low to mid 70s elsewhere around the Sound. Helping temperatures along will be an increasing offshore wind gradient.
Instead of our more typical flow bringing cooler marine air inland from the Pacific, winds will increasingly come out of the east, carrying air from the interior and across the Cascades toward Western Washington.
As that air comes down the western slopes of the Cascades, it gets compressed and warms. It also becomes drier, helping to scour out lingering low clouds and allowing temperatures to climb quickly under the October sunshine.
That’s one reason some of the warmest temperatures Thursday may show up from the Cascade foothills westward toward parts of the Puget Sound lowlands.
By afternoon, the offshore gradient will also bring some 25-35 mph gusts to spots like North Bend and Enumclaw, with these breezes subsiding into early Friday.
Friday will have very little to no morning fog, with only a few high clouds increasing later in the day. We’ll still have a dry, offshore-influenced air mass, and without much morning cloud cover, temperatures should get a head start on warming.
Sunshine will abound, though it may be somewhat filtered by increasing high clouds. Highs will be a few degrees warmer, with my Seattle forecast at 73°.
This kind of warmth doesn’t have much staying power this time of year. The warm weather will end quickly as another system moves in by Saturday, bringing cooler temperatures and, at times, early rain. Saturday’s rain doesn’t look too heavy, but temperatures will drop noticeably, with the low 60s on Saturday and near 60 on Sunday.
Sunday looks mainly dry between systems, with a chance of light rain returning Sunday night into Monday. However, there is still uncertainty with that weather system for early next week, with some of the latest data trending a bit drier.
Beyond Monday, most of next week looks mainly dry but with more clouds and cooler temperatures. Highs will likely struggle to reach 60° for much of next week.
©2026 Cox Media Group
