Olympia ties heat record over weekend, but cools to 60s with showers this week

The Puget Sound region’s weather went off the charts over the weekend.

Olympia tied its record high of 85 on Saturday, initially set in 1987. But records were broken around the region.

By 4 p.m Sunday, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport posted a high of 87 degrees, besting the previous record of 86 set last year. The National Weather Service office in Seattle posted a high of 85 degrees, also a record, the agency said.

A record temperature of 82 degrees also was posted by midafternoon at Quillayute, on the Olympic Peninsula. Those came after regional temperature records set on Saturday at Sea-Tac (86), Hoquiam (85) and Bellingham (82) — along with Olympia’s tie.

Sea-Tac on Sunday also flirted with, but didn’t reach, another record: the earliest 90-degree day ever recorded at the airport. The earliest 90-degree day at Sea-Tac was May 17, 2008, according to records at the airport dating to 1945. A “normal” temperature for Sea-Tac on May 10 is 64 degrees.

Temperatures on Monday dropped back down into the seasonal range of highs in the 60s and lows in the mid 40s, where they will stay all week. Expect sun, clouds and rain mixed in unexpected ways — as is normal for May — the rest of the week.

This story was originally published May 11, 2020 at 2:08 PM.