981  
FXUS66 KSEW 130311 CCA  
AFDSEW  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA  
810 PM PDT SAT JUL 12 2025  
   
SYNOPSIS
 
WARM AND DRY CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE  
WEEKEND WITH UPPER LEVEL RIDGING OVER THE REGION. A BRIEF REPRIEVE  
IN TEMPERATURES IS LIKELY ON MONDAY AS A SYSTEM SLIDES SOUTHWARD  
FROM BRITISH COLUMBIA AND SKIRTS THE AREA. WARMER AND DRIER  
CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED AGAIN AROUND MIDWEEK, WITH HIGHS POTENTIALLY  
REACHING THE 90S FOR SOME LOWLAND LOCATIONS.  
 

 
   
SHORT TERM /TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY/
 
SHALLOW STRATUS HUGS THE  
IMMEDIATE COASTLINE THIS EVENING. THE HQM/SEA GRADIENT IS LESS THAN  
A MILLIBAR THIS EVENING WHICH SPELLS ONLY A MINOR INTRUSION OF THE  
MARINE LAYER OVERNIGHT...PERHAPS TO SHELTON. THERMALLY INDUCED LOW  
PRESSURE WILL REMAIN OVER THE INTERIOR INTO SUNDAY...WITH SEATTLE  
METRO SOUTHWARD AS WELL AS THE WARMER CASCADE VALLEYS IN THE 85 TO  
90 DEGREE RANGE AFTER MILD OVERNIGHT LOWS IN THE UPPER 50S TO LOWER  
60S. THIS WILL PUT A GOOD SWATH OF THE INTERIOR LOWLANDS INTO  
MODERATE HEATRISK BEFORE AN UPPER TROUGH SWINGING BY TO THE NORTH  
BRINGS US A VERY SHORT TERM COOLING TREND FOR MONDAY. THE HEAT  
RETURNS SHORTLY THEREAFTER WITH THE LATEST ENSEMBLES GIVING SEATTLE  
SOUTHWARD A DECENT SHOT AT BACK-TO-BACK 90+ DEGREE DAYS MIDWEEK NEXT  
WEEK. CURRENT FORECASTS ARE ON TRACK. PREVIOUS DISCUSSION FOLLOWS  
WITH UPDATES TO MARINE/AVIATION PORTIONS.  
 
UPPER LEVEL RIDGING OVER THE REGION WILL CONTINUE PROMOTE WARM AND  
DRY CONDITIONS ACROSS WESTERN WASHINGTON TODAY AND SUNDAY. MODEST  
ONSHORE FLOW WILL CONTINUE INTO SUNDAY FOR SOME MORNING STRATUS, BUT  
DO NOT EXPECT AS MUCH CLOUD COVER ACROSS THE AREA AS THIS MORNING.  
AFTERNOON HIGH TEMPERATURES TODAY WILL CLIMB INTO THE UPPER 70S TO  
MID 80S ACROSS THE INTERIOR AND INTO THE UPPER 60S TO LOW 70S ALONG  
THE COAST. HIGHS LOOK TO CLIMB A FEW DEGREES ON SUNDAY AS RIDGING  
STARTS TO AMPLIFY OFFSHORE, WITH TEMPERATURES LOOKING TO TOP OUT IN  
THE 80S TO LOW 90S ACROSS THE INTERIOR AND IN THE 70S ALONG THE  
COAST. MORNING LOWS ON SUNDAY WILL GENERALLY BE IN THE 50S FOR MOST  
SPOTS, BUT MAY NOT DIP DOWN PAST THE LOW 60S FOR THE URBAN CORRIDORS  
EAST OF THE SOUND (GENERALLY FROM TACOMA TO EVERETT). AS A RESULT,  
MODERATE HEATRISK WILL BE PRESENT ACROSS THE MAJORITY OF THE  
INTERIOR LOWLANDS.  
 
A BRIEF REPRIEVE IN TEMPERATURES IS LIKELY ON MONDAY AS A POSITIVELY  
TILTED TROUGH SLIDES DOWN ACROSS BRITISH COLUMBIA AND SKIRTS WESTERN  
WASHINGTON. OUTSIDE OF A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS ACROSS THE FAR  
NORTHERN CASCADES, THIS SYSTEM WILL NOT BRING MUCH IN THE WAY OF  
PRECIPITATION, BUT WILL MOSTLY BRING ADDITIONAL CLOUD COVER AND AN  
INCREASE IN ONSHORE FLOW IN THE LOW LEVELS. HIGH TEMPERATURES ARE  
EXPECTED TO BE ROUGHLY 5 TO 10 DEGREES COOLER AREAWIDE- WITH  
AFTERNOON HIGHS EXPECTED TO BE IN THE MID 70S TO LOW 80S ACROSS THE  
INTERIOR AND IN THE 60S ALONG THE COAST.  
 
THE NEXT WARM UP COMMENCES ON TUESDAY AS HIGH PRESSURE OFFSHORE  
STARTS TO BUILD BACK INTO THE AREA. AFTERNOON HIGHS WILL REBOUND  
INTO THE 80S FOR THE MAJORITY OF THE INTERIOR LOWLANDS, WITH  
TEMPERATURES ALONG THE COAST EXPECTED TO CLIMB INTO THE UPPER 60S TO  
MID 70S. THIS WILL AGAIN BRING ANOTHER ROUND OF MODERATE HEATRISK TO  
PORTIONS OF THE INTERIOR LOWLANDS.  
   
LONG TERM /WEDNESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/
 
WEDNESDAY CURRENTLY  
LOOKS TO REMAIN THE WARMEST DAY OF THE WEEK, WITH THE MOST  
WIDESPREAD MODERATE HEATRISK ACROSS THE AREA. UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF  
HIGH PRESSURE AND A THERMAL TROUGH AT THE SURFACE, EXPECT  
TEMPERATURES TO CLIMB INTO THE UPPER 80S TO LOW 90S ACROSS THE  
INTERIOR LOWLANDS. AREAS ALONG THE COAST WILL WARM AS WELL, BUT WILL  
MAINLY BE IN THE 70S. THIS WARM AND DRY TREND COULD BRING ELEVATED  
TO CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS DURING THIS TIME FRAME- SEE THE  
FIRE WEATHER SECTION BELOW FOR MORE DETAILS.  
 
ENSEMBLES CONTINUE TO HAVE A TOUGH TIME CONVERGING ON SOLUTIONS  
AFTER WEDNESDAY, THOUGH THE ENSEMBLE MEAN HAS STARTED TO INDICATE  
SOME WEAK TROUGHING OVER THE AREA BY THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. THE  
OVERALL TREND LEANS TOWARDS TEMPERATURES COOLING A FEW DEGREES BOTH  
THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. HOWEVER, WITH HIGHS STILL EXPECTED TO BE IN THE  
80S ACROSS THE INTERIOR LOWLANDS INTO THE WEEKEND, TEMPERATURES LOOK  
TO CONTINUE TO TREND ABOVE NORMAL THROUGH THE LONG TERM AT THIS  
TIME. 14  
 

 
   
AVIATION
 
NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT THROUGH THE PERIOD AS UPPER-RIDGING  
HOLDS STUBBORNLY OFFSHORE. WIDESPREAD VFR CONDITIONS THIS EVENING  
WITH A FEW HIGH CLOUDS STARTING TO ENTER THE AREA. MOSTLY CLEAR  
SKIES ARE EXPECTED TONIGHT INTO SUNDAY ALSO BUT CAN'T RULE OUT  
PATCHY FOG ALONG WITH STRATUS ALONG THE IMMEDIATE COAST, INCLUDING  
HQM. NORTHERLY WINDS FOR INTERIOR TERMINALS AROUND 8 TO 12 KT. KCLM  
AND KHQM LOOKS TO REMAIN WESTERLY WITH SIMILAR MAGNITUDES. WINDS  
BECOME LIGHTER OVERNIGHT.  
 
KSEA...VFR CONDITIONS TODAY AND THROUGHOUT THE TAF PERIOD. NORTH-  
NORTHWEST WINDS THIS EVENING GENERALLY BETWEEN 8 TO 12 KT HAVE BEEN  
SLOW TO SUBSIDE BUT ARE STILL EXPECTED TO TREND LIGHTER BY 06Z.  
SPEEDS INCREASE AGAIN SUNDAY AFTERNOON WITH GUSTS UP TO 20 KT.  
 
MCMILLIAN/18  
 

 
   
MARINE
 
SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE CONTINUES OFFSHORE WITH LOW LEVEL  
ONSHORE FLOW THROUGH AREA WATERS. A WESTERLY PUSH THIS EVENING WILL  
BE WEAKER THAN THE PREVIOUS DAYS BUT STILL SEEING SOME SPEEDS IN THE  
STRAIT AND NEARSHORE COASTAL WATERS STILL SHOWING BORDERLINE SCA  
SPEEDS. AS SUCH, INHERITED HEADLINES WILL REMAIN IN PLACE. DIURNALLY  
DRIVEN PUSHES WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE STRAIT INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK.  
THE NEXT BEST CHANCE FOR SCA LEVEL (POSSIBLY NEAR GALES) WINDS  
THROUGH THE STRAIT AND ADMIRALTY INLET APPEARS TO BE SUNDAY EVENING.  
NORTHERLY WINDS WILL INCREASE OVER THE OUTER COASTAL WATERS SUNDAY  
NIGHT WITH THE POTENTIAL TO REACH SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY STRENGTH AS  
WELL ALONG WITH STEEP SEAS. WEAK OFFSHORE IS SHOWING SIGNALS TOWARDS  
MIDWEEK AS A THERMAL TROUGH BUILDS ALONG THE COAST.  
 
COMBINED SEAS 4 TO 6 FEET WILL GRADUALLY INCREASE TO AROUND 6 TO 8  
FEET LATE SUNDAY INTO MONDAY. SEAS LOOK TO REMAIN ELEVATED FOR THE  
FIRST HALF OF NEXT WEEK.  
 
MCMILLIAN/18  
 

 
   
FIRE WEATHER
 
HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE REGION WILL MAINTAIN WARM  
AND DRY CONDITIONS ACROSS WESTERN WASHINGTON THIS WEEKEND. MODEST  
ONSHORE FLOW WILL PROVIDE FOR EXCELLENT OVERNIGHT RECOVERIES FOR  
MOST OF THE LOWLANDS. HOWEVER, SUNDAY AFTERNOON WILL SEE RH VALUES  
DIP DOWN INTO THE 25-30% RANGE FOR AREAS IN THE INTERIOR. A WEAK  
TROUGH SLIDES THROUGH THE REGION ON MONDAY, BOOSTING CLOUD COVER  
AND HUMIDITIES, AS WELL AS BRINGING COOLER TEMPERATURES INTO THE  
REGION. THIS IS A SHORT BREAK AS ELEVATED FIRE WEATHER CONCERNS  
RETURN BY THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK, WITH MINIMUM RH VALUES  
APPROACHING CRITICAL THRESHOLDS. WHILE FLOW REMAINS MOSTLY  
NORTHERLY OR NORTHEASTERLY, THE COMBINATION OF DAYTIME BREEZES  
OVERLAYING THE LOWEST RHS MAY ELEVATE CONCERNS AROUND WEDNESDAY  
AND THURSDAY FOR MUCH OF WESTERN WASHINGTON AS A THERMAL TROUGH  
MAY BUILD OVER THE REGION. THIS COULD FURTHER ENHANCE INSTABILITY  
AS WELL. THAT SAID, ENSEMBLE GUIDANCE CONTINUES TO EXHIBIT A WIDE  
RANGE OF POTENTIAL OUTCOMES FOR THIS TIME PERIOD AND CONFIDENCE  
REMAINS A BIT LOWER IN THE DETAILS OF POTENTIAL ELEVATED OR  
CRITICAL CONDITIONS DURING THE MIDDLE TO LATE PORTION OF NEXT  
WEEK. CULLEN  
 

 
   
SEW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
 
 
WA...NONE.  
PZ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FROM 3 PM SUNDAY TO 6 AM PDT MONDAY FOR  
CENTRAL U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA-EAST ENTRANCE  
U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA.  
 
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FROM 5 PM SUNDAY TO 3 AM PDT MONDAY FOR  
ADMIRALTY INLET.  
 

 
 

 
 
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