MYNORTHWEST NEWS

Time to pull out the sweaters? Say goodbye to summer weather

Sep 13, 2017, 5:58 AM | Updated: 11:40 am

measurable rain...

(File, Associated Press)

(File, Associated Press)

Our summer weather is likely gone for good.

The National Weather Service notes that Monday may have been the last 80-degree day of the year in and around Seattle.

The current forecast calls for highs in the mid-to-low 70s for the next several days. That includes a dip next Monday, when temperatures won’t get above 65.

Summer officially ends on Sept. 22.

It’s a summer that hasn’t disappointed when it comes to dry, sometimes uncomfortably warm temperatures. We had one of the driest summers on record with only .02 inches of rain falling in July and August. Daily highs didn’t dip below 70 degrees between the end of June and Sept. 9.

Of course, the nice weather has come with a downside. Fires both locally and from hundreds of miles away impacted our our air quality for weeks. A haze from fires in Washington to Montana, as well as Oregon, lingered through last week. Wildfire ash fell as far west as the Olympic Peninsula.

RELATED: Places in Washington with some of the cleanest air

University of Washington Climatologist Cliff Mass notes the cumulative precipitation at Sea-Tac Airport for the past six months was actually above normal. But that is due to a wet spring. He writes that since then, Seattle’s precipitation has “flatlined.”

“Earlier in the summer (before late August) this is not that unusual, but having nothing for the first half of Sept. is not a common occurrence.”

Mass says our region’s dry streak will end Sunday.

“Dry conditions will continue through Saturday, so enjoy the nice weather while you can,” he writes.

Sunday will bring what Mass calls the “first substantial frontal system” to the area in months.

MyNorthwest News

ritzville i-90 closed visibility...

Jason Sutich

I-90 in Ritzville reopens after dust storm caused multiple collisions

I-90 in Ritzville has reopened after both directions were blocked Friday due to multiple collisions.

3 hours ago

Ballard hit-and-run...

KIRO Newsradio staff

20-year-old sentenced to more than 3 years for deadly 2025 Ballard hit-and-run

The man accused in the hit-and-run death of a pedestrian in Ballard last year has been sentenced to more than three years in prison.

3 hours ago

2 box truck fire SODO...

Julia Dallas

Suspects accidentally light themselves on fire while allegedly trying to steal fuel from box trucks in SODO

Two suspects accidentally set themselves on fire while they appeared to be trying to steal fuel from box trucks in the SODO neighborhood.

4 hours ago

columbia city school gun...

MyNorthwest Staff

Person in custody after gun seized by staff at high school in Seattle

A person is in custody after a gun was seized by staff at a high school in Seattle.

5 hours ago

2 Rick Rizzs...

Manda Factor

Rick Rizzs says goodbye to Mariners booth after 52-year career: ‘I’ve lived my dream’

Rick Rizzs has three games left behind the microphone for the Seattle Mariners, and a lifetime of memories competing for his attention.

5 hours ago

Thurston County power outages...

Julia Dallas

More than 40,000 people without power in Thurston County, crews working on transmission lines

More than 40,000 people are without power in Thurston County.

8 hours ago

Time to pull out the sweaters? Say goodbye to summer weather