Drying out Thursday and Friday, rain returns this weekend

Seattle weather: Morning clouds, then sunny

Seattl - Western Washington will see more sunshine by Thursday afternoon, as high pressure briefly builds over the Pacific Northwest.

People in the central Puget Sound area woke up to showers this morning, but those quickly dissipated. Thursday afternoon will feature decreasing cloud cover and more sunshine by the late afternoon. High temperatures will remain cooler than average.

Morning clouds and afternoon sunshine Thursday in Western Washington

A map showing the forecasted high temperatures in Western Washington Thursday (FOX 13 Seattle)

Overall, this has been a cooler May with only a handful of days above average in Seattle. SeaTac (where official records are taken) has not seen an above average high temperature for over two weeks.

A calendar showing Seattle's high temperatures in May so far. (FOX 13 Seattle)

This has also been a drier than average May so far. The good news is that most of the 1.54 inches we've seen have come in the second half of the month. Late-spring rain can delay fire season in western Washington and the Cascades. There is more rain in the forecast as we get into the first week of June.

A drier than normal May in Seattle so far

A calendar showing Seattle's precipitation in May so far. (FOX 13 Seattle)

The next round of showers will hit early Saturday morning, though the rest of Saturday looks more dry than wet. Much heavier rain will hit on Sunday and Monday. One to two inches of rain is possible in the Puget Sound lowlands from Sunday morning to Tuesday morning. We could see three inches or more in the mountains.

Rain showers and mainly cooler than average temperatures in the 7 day forecast for Seattle

The showery and cool 7 day forecast for the greater Seattle area. (FOX 13 Seattle)

Looking beyond the seven day forecast, the Pacific Northwest could be in for a nice warm up. Temperatures are trending warmer than average in the Pacific Northwest. Long range models have high temps soaring between 70 and 80 degrees the second week of June.

The second week of June will likely be warmer than normal in Western Washington

The Climate Prediction Center's 8-14 day temperature forecast for the United States (FOX 13 Seattle)

It's also looking drier than normal heading into the second week of June. Seattle and the rest of Western Washington could be in for some nice early summer weather.