Yes, we have the worst air in the nation — and we’re setting a regional rainless record

This is the longest there’s been no rain in the Puget Sound area, ever.

Monday marks 51 days without measurable rain at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, which ties as the longest dry streak in the region.

“In fact, we are going to smash this record, with no rain in sight for the lowlands for the remainder of the week,” Cliff Mass, a University of Washington meteorologist, wrote on his blog.

The old record was set in 1951 from July 7 to Aug. 26.

Although some light rain fell in parts of Puget Sound in July, none fell at the airport, where rain is measured and records are kept.

Despite the dry streak, Mass said, the region is only one inch below normal from late May to early August.

Temperatures are expected to stay in the 80s for the rest of the week with a small dip into the 70s this weekend.

Smoke from fires burning in British Columbia will linger through Tuesday, officials and forecasters said.

Washington has the worst air quality in the nation since wildfire smoke swooped down earlier in the week, according to the state Department of Ecology.

“We’ve never seen numbers like this across the board,” said Mike Ragan, the department’s air monitoring coordinator. “When the state’s cleanest air monitor hits very high levels of pollution, you know it’s bad.”

This story was originally published August 7, 2017 at 1:29 PM with the headline "Yes, we have the worst air in the nation — and we’re setting a regional rainless record."