


Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Seattle/Tacoma, WA
Issued by NWS Seattle/Tacoma, WA
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450 FXUS66 KSEW 132307 AFDSEW Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Seattle WA 407 PM PDT Sun Jul 13 2025 .SYNOPSIS...A brief reprieve in warm temperatures is expected on Monday as a system slides southward from British Columbia and skirts the area. Warmer and drier conditions will return Tuesday through Thursday, with some lowland locations potentially seeing highs in the 90s by Wednesday. Elevated fire weather conditions are also expected during this warm up. A cooling trend then commences late in the week and into next weekend. && .SHORT TERM /TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY/...Warm and dry conditions continue across the area this afternoon with temperatures generally ranging in the 80s to low 90s across the interior. Areas along the coast remain much cooler, with temperatures ranging in the 60s to low 70s under onshore flow and with stratus still present along the coast. A brief reprieve in temperatures is expected 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, the main impact from this system will be cooler temperatures, an increase in cloud cover, and an increase in onshore flow in the low levels. High temperatures on Monday will primarily be in the 70s to low 80s across the interior and in the 60s along the coast. Conditions start to ramp up again on Tuesday as high pressure offshore starts to build into the region and a thermal trough at the surface builds northward into the area. Afternoon highs on Tuesday will rebound into the 80s for the majority of the interior lowlands, with temperatures along the coast expected to climb into the 70s to low 80s. Temperatures will continue to warm and will peak on Wednesday, with highs expected to be in the 80s to low 90s across the interior. With overnight lows generally expected to be in the upper 50s to low 60s, this will bring another round of Moderate HeatRisk to the majority of the interior lowlands. This warm and dry trend will also bring elevated to critical fire weather conditions to portions of the area both Tuesday and Wednesday. More details on fire weather can be found below in the fire weather section. .LONG TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/...Ensembles continue to have a tough time converging on solutions late in the week. At this time, Thursday looks to remain warm for much of the area outside of the coast, however there remains a decent spread in temperatures amongst the ensemble members. Guidance starts to show more of a cooling trend by Friday with an increase in onshore flow, though highs are still expected to be above normal and in the 80s for the interior lowlands. At this time, temperatures look to cool closer to seasonal norms over the weekend. 14 && .AVIATION...West-northwest flow aloft as upper-ridging continues offshore. VFR for all terminals this afternoon with clear skies overhead. Marine stratus continues to hug the immediate coastline. Onshore flow will strengthen this evening as stratus spreads inland overnight into Monday morning. A mix of MVFR/IFR appears favored starting at KHQM by 06-08z then towards Puget Sound and surrounding areas around 11-14z. Northerly winds through the interior this afternoon-evening between 8 to 12 kt, becoming lighter overnight. KCLM seeing more westerly winds 10 to 15 knots later this evening and gusts up to 20 to 25 kts. VFR will return into the day on Monday as stratus lifts and clears during the afternoon. KSEA...VFR this afternoon but stratus is favored to return Monday morning. NW winds this afternoon around 8 to 14 knots, with the potential of some gusts up to 20 kts as well. Northerly winds look to remain elevated throughout most of the evening before dimming after midnight local time. MVFR stratus is favorable to return around 11-13z Monday morning and stick around before lifting towards 18-20z. McMillian && .MARINE...Surface high pressure remains offshore with onshore flow throughout the area waters. Diurnally driven westerly pushes down the strait will continue over the next several days of differing magnitude. Latest guidance has shown more strength in the westerly push tonight, therefore a Gale Warning remains in effect for the Central and Eastern Strait for this evening. Northerly winds also look to increase over the coastal waters this evening along with steep seas, so A Small Craft Advisory also remains in effect well into Monday. Thermal troughing looks to build along the coast through midweek, with periodic increases of northerly winds through the area waters. Combined seas 6 to 8 feet look to increase to 8 to 10 feet by Monday morning. Seas will likely remain elevated throughout the first half of the week. McMillian && .FIRE WEATHER...A passing disturbance Monday will bring a brief relief from the very warm and dry conditions of the weekend. This system will bring much stronger onshore flow, spreading widespread clouds and cooler conditions. However, attention will then turn to the return of high pressure over the region. Expect to see afternoon RH values dip down close to critical thresholds Tuesday afternoon with a thermal trough building north over the Cascades. While some uncertainty remains with respect to how far north and west this builds, expect to see at least some east component to the surface winds near the Cascade gaps in zone 659 and perhaps portions of 657 and 658. Confidence is lower in seeing more widespread easterly wind and speeds may not be strong enough to raise fire weather concerns to critical, but this may serve to further reduce RHs. Additionally, depending on the placement of the thermal trough, expect to see a deeper mixed layer and increased instability with mixing heights potentially rising into Wednesday. While confidence in the specific timing of elevated fire weather concerns is still lower, the mid week period bears close watching for both existing incidents and for the potential for conditions to remain of concern if new ones were to begin. Looking ahead to the end of the week, expect conditions to remain warmer and drier than normal but forecast guidance continues to exhibit a large range of potential scenarios that leave confidence lower than normal. Cullen && .SEW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WA...None. PZ...Gale Warning until 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 until 5 AM PDT Monday for Admiralty Inlet. Small Craft Advisory until 7 AM PDT Monday for Coastal Waters From Cape Flattery To James Island 10 To 60 Nm-Coastal Waters From Cape Flattery To James Island Out 10 Nm-Coastal Waters From James Island To Point Grenville 10 To 60 Nm- Coastal Waters From James Island To Point Grenville Out 10 Nm-Coastal Waters From Point Grenville To Cape Shoalwater 10 To 60 Nm-Coastal Waters From Point Grenville To Cape Shoalwater Out 10 Nm. && $$