Sunny afternoons, late sunsets: Seattle's summer weather delights despite morning clouds

SEATTLE — After a beautiful sunny weekend to kick off summer in Seattle, clouds returned Monday, but don't worry, they won't stick around for long.

While a marine layer provides morning clouds, afternoons will turn increasingly bright and sunny. And evenings should stay clear to witness some of the latest sunsets of the year, setting slightly past 9 p.m. this week, according to KOMO News Meteorologist Kristin Clark.

It will be another dry week for the lowlands, too, as a stagnant pattern remains along the West Coast, characterized by high pressure overhead and low pressure over California.

Mountain thunderstorms will be commonplace in a weather pattern like this, developing each afternoon with the daytime heating over the higher terrain. Much of the thunder activity will stay confined to the eastern slopes of the Cascades, where storms could be slow-moving from Chelan to Winthrop.

The resultant heavy rain in a short time will increase the flash flood threat, especially in old wildfire burn scar areas of Chelan and Okanogan counties. The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a flood watch from 1 p.m. Monday through the evening for Chelan and western Okanogan counties.

The mountain thunder threat will wane by the end of the week as high pressure strengthens over the Pacific Northwest. Quiet sunshine from the coast to the Cascades will bode well for outdoor recreation heading into the July 4 holiday weekend.

We'll also see a warm-up, potentially well into the 80s across Puget Sound, by the Fourth of July. The lack of rain, with the impending warmth, will likely increase fire weather concerns by then.