Following a few sprinkles Friday night into Saturday morning, there will be clearing skies later in the day Saturday ahead of the warmest days of the year.
Temperatures on Saturday will rise from the 50s in the morning to the upper 60s to mid 70s for most with a very pleasant day on tap for most of the region.
There could still be a few sprinkles early in the day Saturday, mainly nearer the Cascades and near the Canadian border. A northerly breeze of 10-15mph will pick up on the water by afternoon.
For the Windermere Cup at Seattle’s Montlake Cut, the conditions for the rowing regatta Saturday morning should be near ideal — very typical for Seattle on the first Saturday in May.
The real “heat” comes Sunday and Monday, courtesy of building high pressure aloft and over the northeastern Pacific and offshore wind flow that will keep the cooler air from flowing in from the Pacific.
Highs Sunday will reach the 70s at the coast and many locations along the northern waters while highs will break 80° from the Puget Sound region southward. Some mid 80s are likely in some of the warmer spots near the Cascades and south of Puget Sound. East of the Cascades, we’ll be even a little warmer!
Seattle’s record high for Sunday is 77° set in 1992, so that record is likely to fall.
Onshore wind flow picks up on Monday for a cooler day at the coast but not soon enough to prevent many areas in the interior (including around Puget Sound) from reaching 80° once again.
The average date of the first 80° day in Seattle is May 20, so this will be almost three weeks “ahead of schedule.”
With records at SEA Airport starting in 1945, the earliest 80° day on the calendar was April 1, 1987. The longest Seattle went in a year without an official 80° reading was in 1980, when the first high temperature that warm wasn’t recorded until July 21.