Seattle residents are enjoying unusually dry and sunny weather for mid-January, but this idyll will last only a couple of days. Meteorologists say the cause is an area of high pressure that is steering precipitation northward, creating a "blocking pattern." The current dry stretch, now two weeks long, has a good chance of breaking the 1963 record, when it didn’t rain for 15 consecutive days in January.
On Sunday, locals can expect a mostly sunny day with temperatures up to 44°F (about 7°C), dropping to 32°F (0°C) in the evening. That day will also mark the first 5 p.m. sunset of the year, coinciding with an important match for the local football team, the Seattle Seahawks. On Monday the sky will cloud over, although temperatures should remain about the same.
Rain will return to the region Tuesday evening, signaling the end of the anomalously dry period. By the end of the week, conditions will be typical for the season: precipitation will continue through Saturday, and temperatures will gradually rise to 54°F (about 12°C). Interestingly, while the West Coast enjoys the lull, a winter storm on the U.S. East Coast has prompted states of emergency in 22 states.
Based on: Seattle weather: Sunny, dry for now, 5 p.m. sunsets are here