Welcome to the cool. September has arrived, three weeks late. Gray mornings and low clouds greeted South Sound residents as the week ended.
The heat is still on, according to the National Weather Service – but dialed back a bit. No more 80s. For the next few days, the temperatures will hover in the 60s and 70s, but no higher, said meteorologist Johnny Burg, of the agency’s Seattle office.
“I would say we’re gonna say goodbye to that heat for a while,” Burg said “I don’t see anything that’s gonna be anywhere close to upper 70s, 80s again at all. Tacoma, maybe lower 70s is all we’ll get up to, maybe.”
A spatter of rain added a little moisture, but not much. A trace of drizzle.
“I wouldn’t call this wettening,” Burg said.
Friday morning’s drops came after a recent dry stretch that reached a near-record 48 days, broken a few days back. Forecasters expect more drizzle today, with temperatures in the 60s.
The dry spell lingers, though; wildfires sparked by thunderstorms continue to burn in Eastern Washington. Friday, forecasters issued a fire weather watch in the Cascade foothills, in effect through Saturday night. The danger is dry lightning: thunderstorms without rain, and strikes on tinder-dry grass.
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