At least 4 more days without rain in Puget Sound; expect fog and poor air quality



SEATTLE -- The high-pressure that has been above Western Washington for all of last week will continue to stick around. Q13 News Chief Meteorologist Walter Kelley expects the cold, dry pattern to continue through Thursday (Dec. 14).

Rain showers and mild temperatures will be back in the forecast on Friday.

In the meantime, prepare for icy conditions each morning with some patches of dense fog, especially in the South Sound.

The days for most of us will be sunny and cold. The mountains and the coast will have totally sunny days and above freezing temperatures.

Air stagnation 

The lack of wind from our current calm weather pattern is creating some unhealthy air for the Puget Sound region.



The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency called for a stage 1 burn ban for King County Sunday afternoon. A stage 1 burn ban had already been in effect for greater Pierce County and Snohomish County.

By Monday afternoon the burn ban had been lifted in King and Snohomish County. Puget Sound Clean Air Agency tweeted saying the fog lifted and the sun was warming up the ground, breaking the surface inversion and helping air pollution levels.

The burn ban remained in effect in Pierce County.

Kelley said the air will not look or feel like it did during the summer when we had wildfire smoke in the region. But if you notice your voice is raspy. The air might be to blame.

Miss the rain? Just wait

A change to this dry weather pattern is coming this week. Kelley said late Thursday night he expects some passing showers and a significant change in temperatures. This week each day will be slightly warmer than the previous day.

On Friday morning, many of us will be waking up to above freezing and our lows go back into the 40s.

"So no more icy roads for the lowlands," Kelley said.

The mountains will start getting snow Friday and they will get snow all weekend. The lowlands will be pretty dry over the weekend due to the rainshadow off of the Olympics.

Was this a record?

Our stretch of dry days wasn't a record, but it was somewhat odd.

If the forecast is right, the Puget Sound region will have 11 days in a row without rain in December.

Kelley said, "that hasn’t happened since 1999."