The Puget Sound is going to continue its California weather imitation for another weekend in what already is a record-breaking summer, said KPLU's weather expert Cliff Mass.
"This is going to be the warmest summer in the memory of virtually everybody," Mass said. "You have to go back to the 1930s to get temperatures that are even similar to this."
Need proof? The region on Thursday beat the all-time record for 90-degree days in a summer with 10 days. The old record was nine.
"Month after months is breaking all-time records," Mass said. "This is an extraordinary summer."
The warm weather will continue through the weekend. Both Saturday and Sunday will be in the 90s for Seafair. By Monday, the high-pressure ridge creating the increased temperatures will slide away allowing cool ocean air to drop the area into the lower 80s.
The cooling trend will continue through the week with temperatures dropping into the 70s with cloud cover and some scattered rain in Western Washington on Thursday and Friday.
The Wildfire Threat vs The Wildfire Reality
Surprisingly, Mass said, the actually wildfire acres burned this year is less than average -- even though the threat has been higher.
"There are less fires than normal in terms of acreage here in the Northwest," Mass said. "On the other had, there have been more fires."
The reason? Likely is it less lightning than average. Lightning accounts for 50 percent of wildfires in the state. In fact, the same high-pressure ridges that have turned the forests into tinderboxes have also kept the sly clear of lightning, Mass said.
"We haven't had the lightning to initiate as many fires," Mass said.
