Heat wave could bring temperatures near 90 degrees in Olympia this weekend

The summer solstice is still a few weeks away but that won’t stop parts of Washington from seeing summer-like temperatures this weekend, including Olympia.

A heat wave is expected to cause temperatures to gradually rise over the next few days until they hit triple digits in some parts of Washington, peaking near 90 in South Puget Sound.

“We’re going to have some more high-pressure move into the area late in the week and into the weekend, and that is generally what drives the temperatures going up,” Maddie Kristell, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Seattle, told The Olympian in a phone call Wednesday. “What we’re looking at temperature-wise are things, basically from tomorrow onward, to kind of stair-step upward.”

Olympia temperatures could hit 90 degrees

In Olympia, the NWS expects a high temperature of 79 degrees on Thursday, up from 68 degrees on Wednesday. Friday will also see a high of 79, according to NWS, but the highest temperatures will come on Saturday and Sunday.

“By Saturday, the South Sound region will be anywhere between 85 to 87 degrees. So a noticeable warm up for Saturday,” Kristell said. “The warmest day will likely be Sunday, where we could see 88 to 90 degrees.”

Sunday’s temperature could exceed the average high for early June by 20 degrees, Kristell said.

“That would certainly, for the day and time of year, be pretty markedly above average, as it looks like the average high for June 9 is 69. If we’re going 88 or 90, that’s certainly above average,” Kristell said.

However, temperatures aren’t expected to reach the record high. According to Kristell, the highest three-day average high in Olympia on record for this time of year is 90 degrees, set in 1948.

How long will WA heat wave last?

After the heat wave peaks on Sunday, temperatures are expected to return to normal relatively quickly.

“This isn’t a very long-lived heat event for us,” Kristell said. “By Monday, we’re down into the low 80s. So Olympia should be 80 to 82, and then by Tuesday, you’re back down to 76.”

While NWS maintains a seven-day forecast, The Weather Channel’s forecast extends 10 days out. According to The Weather Channel, Olympia will see a high of 73 degrees next Wednesday, before temperatures settle in the upper-60s for the rest of the week.

Will temperatures stay high this summer?

Is the heat wave a sign of things to come this summer, or a one-off event? According to Kristell, we shouldn’t jump to any conclusions from one weekend of high temperatures.

“One heat event doesn’t necessarily speak for the whole season,” Kristell said.

That said, long-range forecasts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center suggest that Washington is in for hot weather this summer.

“What I can say, looking at the three-month temperature and precipitation outlooks from the Climate Prediction Center, is that it does show most of Washington being well above-average temperature-wise, and more below normal in precip terms,” Kristell said.

This story was originally published June 4, 2025 at 12:59 PM.