Major cooldown in the Northwest could linger toward the Fourth of July
Jun 26, 2026, 5:41 AM
Clouds cover the sky while it rains as a sea plane approaches Lake Union for a landing in Seattle. (Photo: Robert Sumner, Getty Images)
(Photo: Robert Sumner, Getty Images)
After a few rounds of heat with some highs in the 90s, we are absolutely done with the hot weather (or anything resembling it) for a while to come.
A broad trough of low pressure across western Canada and the northwest U.S. with cool to mild temperatures will continue for days to come.
As is often the case when the western part of the continental U.S. is unusually cool for many days, the eastern half of the country heats up! This will be true starting this weekend and into next week. Many locations in the eastern part of the country could see record heat with oppressive humidity!
Meanwhile, close to home, we will contend with a few showers of rain on Friday and part of Saturday before some drying Sunday into next week. However, chances of light rain can’t be completely ruled out into next week.
What we are confident saying when we have large pattern shifts like this is that it will stay on the “cool” side for many days to come.
I’m forecasting highs in the 60s in Seattle and much of the Western Washington lowlands through the 3rd of July, and the outlook from the Climate Prediction Center (above) paints that same picture through the Fourth of July weekend — a better chance than not of cooler-than-average temperatures. The average high in Seattle at the start of July is 74°.
We’ll be monitoring the chance of rain showers returning ahead of the weekend of the Fourth, and while the cooler weather might not be exactly what is wished for as summer vacation’s underway for many, rain and mild temperatures could help to keep wildfire activity a bit lower through the period.
