Weekend Weather: Air quality improves, Red Flag Warnings remain in effect

We’re still waking up to some smoke and haze across western Washington, but the good news is air quality is much improved compared to 24 hours ago — and it will continue to improve through the day. Light onshore wind is slowly pushing the smoke out, and while the process isn’t happening quickly, we’ll notice a much bigger difference by this afternoon and tonight.

We also have a few areas of low marine clouds this morning, mainly from Shelton south and west. Those clouds will burn away, leaving us with hazy sunshine and another warm afternoon. High temperatures will climb into the mid to upper-80s across much of the area. The haze will be slowest to clear near the Cascade Foothills, especially in eastern King County.

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Meanwhile, conditions remain much more concerning east of the Cascades. Red Flag Warnings continue through Friday and Saturday as afternoon and evening westerly winds of 20 to 40 mph combine with low humidity to create dangerous fire weather conditions. Gusty winds will likely continue into next week, keeping the fire danger elevated even if conditions aren’t quite as critical as they are today and Saturday.

The weekend looks fantastic across western Washington. Saturday starts with a few morning clouds before turning mostly sunny, while Sunday features a bit more cloud cover but remains dry. High temperatures both days will reach the upper-70s to lower-80s.

Looking ahead to next week, expect a stretch of warm, dry summer weather with highs around 80 degrees in Seattle. Smoke should stay out of western Washington through at least the middle of the week, although there’s a chance it could return later in the week depending on wildfire activity and wind patterns.

Unfortunately, there’s still no rain in sight.

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