Record-breaking warm weather continues Tuesday

With a heat-wave descending on Western Washington in the early part of the week, Seattle officially got its warmest March day on record on Tuesday, hitting 79 degrees, and topping the previous mark by a single degree.

*Warmest March Day on Record*

Observed temperature of 79° in Seattle makes today the warmest March day on record since 1894 (includes both Sea-Tac and Federal Building data). Previous record was 78° on March 29, 2004. #WAwx

— NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) March 19, 2019

By 8 a.m., the National Weather Service reported that the day’s record high had already been tied at 63 degrees. Also, the record high minimum temp was broken with an overnight low of 59 degrees. The previous record was 50 degrees. If temps stay above 53 degrees through midnight, it will set an all-time March record high minimum.

“The east wind will continue today and be breezy to windy at times,” said KIRO 7 TV meteorologist Nick Allard. “This descending air is warming as it loses elevation and this phenomenon will continue bringing high temperatures around the mid-70s.”

We’ve got another shot at the records today! Another dry & sunny day is in store for W WA. Expect afternoon highs in the mid 60s-70s across the region & overnight lows in the 40s-low 50s. #WAwx pic.twitter.com/xRY1uq6ygp

— NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) March 19, 2019

NWS originally reported that the high in Seattle would reach around 75 degrees Tuesday. Allard noted that the high temperature record set for this day was 63 degrees in 1951, correctly predicting that record to be “obliterated” by lunchtime.

The NWS expects about 70 degrees on Wednesday. Allard says some ocean air will move in as well from the coast.

“Onshore flow and more clouds arrive by Thursday and Friday bringing highs back to the low to mid 60s,” Allard said. “The best chance for showers looks to be late Friday and Saturday, but it won’t be a washout. We should see highs back in the 50s over the weekend, just a few degrees above normal for this time of year.”

Monday

On Monday, Seattle hit 66 degrees by noon, marking the warmest temperature since Oct. 18. Things continued when it got up to 74 degrees by 2 p.m., a daily record and the warmest winter day on record. It’s the earliest in the calendar that it’s gotten that warm, and the third warmest March day on record.

By 2:45 p.m., temperatures reached 75 degrees, making for the second-warmest March day ever.

The first day of spring is Wednesday, when forecasters say clouds and cooler temperatures (low- to mid-60s) return.

As of 5:40 AM, the overnight low temp at #Seatac was 59° F, which is only 4° away from their max record high of 63°F (1951) for today. As long as those easterly winds continue, temps will not have to climb much to break that record. #WAwx

— NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) March 19, 2019

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