Summer arrived Wednesday, but the heat will arrive this weekend

This weekend could be the hottest in Olympia so far in 2017, with a record-breaking 93 degree high forecast on Sunday.

It may be a welcome departure from Washington’s wettest winter on record.

“We had a pretty good stretch of rain,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Art Gaeble about this winter. “Gloomy and clouds, and we’re all looking forward to summer.”

And we’re about to get a taste.

If Sunday’s 93-degree high forecast pans out, it’ll break the 90-degree record high for June 25. Saturday’s 90-degree forecast is warmer than the hottest day of the year so far, but doesn’t quite reach the June 24 record high of 95 degrees. Both days, Olympia is expected to be several degrees hotter than Seattle.

“It’s going to feel like summer this weekend,” Gaeble said.

But don’t put your umbrellas away just yet. This scorcher of a weekend doesn’t necessarily mean that summer weather is here to stay. We’ll continue to see colder mornings and afternoons that burn off into warmer evenings for a few weeks.

Temperature upswings like this aren’t unusual for June.

“It’s nothing really out of the norm, but it’s kind of a shock when it happens,” Gaeble said.

The National Weather Service issued a special weather statement Wednesday reminding boaters to wear lifejackets and warning of the risk of hypothermia and drowning when seeking refuge from the heat in Washington’s waters, many of which stay cold through the summer.

But if you don’t plan on swimming, there are still steps you can take to stay safe in the sun.

“Stay hydrated obviously, plenty of water, don’t lock your kids in the car, keep an eye on the elderly,” Gaeble advised. “Use common sense. Unfortunately, common sense isn’t common these days.”

This story was originally published June 21, 2017 at 4:59 PM with the headline "Summer arrived Wednesday, but the heat will arrive this weekend."