The mix of sun and clouds in the Memorial Day weekend forecast should not come as a surprise to people living in the greater Puget Sound region.
Late May weather here often brings a tantalizing mix of sunny warmth with clouds that can quickly yield to cooler skies as drizzle or cool marine air pushes in.
But the weekend forecast should be mostly drizzle-free, says KNKX weather expert Cliff Mass.
“In fact, it’s a very, very nice forecast for this weekend,” said Mass, who teaches atmospheric sciences at the University of Washington.
Morning Clouds Friday
Mass says Friday and most of the weekend will be that typical late-May weather, with plenty of clouds in the morning that burn off during the course of the afternoons.
He says Friday’s temps will be mild.
“Probably get up into the upper 60s to around 70,” he said, “So, quite a nice day. No drizzle, no rain, no nothing. “
Cloudier Saturday
Mass says the cloudiest day of the long weekend will be on Saturday.
“We’re going to have an onshore push of marine air, the Pacific Stratus will inundate western Washington, so we’ll be cloudy Saturday morning,” Mass said, adding that he expects some cloud breaks in the afternoon.
“So I expect sun by mid- to late afternoon.” And he says the temperatures Saturday will again get to around 70 degrees.
Improving Sunday
“Sunday will be better,” he said, adding that the high pressure that brings bluer skies will start building in.
“Maybe a little clouds in the morning – not much. Mostly sunny – 70, 71, 72,” he said of the warming trend.
Clear Monday
“It looks like Monday is the best day,” Mass said. “I don’t think there will be a lot of clouds...temperatures getting up to around 70 – even lower 70s.”
“So, very, very nice Memorial Day,” he said.
And he said, as of Friday morning, computer models were predicting an upper level trough of lower pressure will be moving in on Wednesday. “So expect more clouds and temperatures dropping back into the 60s.”
“But – all in all an extremely dry period and one with temperatures near normal.”
Record Dry May?
Mass says he expects the dry weather in the coming week will put Seattle in a position to tie the record for the driest May on record.
“In fact, Sea-Tac Airport is now at 0.12 inches for the month of May – that is the record,” Mass said. “If we stay at that, then we will tie the all-time record driest May. And looking at the computer models right now, it does not look like we’ll have any rain through the month. So I think we have a really good chance.”
